Resident Evil: T Angelus
by Kuroi Diamond
Summary: Amidst this bloody war, I will find you in the dark... A tale of danger, horror and loss but above all hope; T Angelus has been re-imagined and rewritten for an easier reading experience.
1. Author's Note and Disclaimer

Greetings. Welcome to the completely new version of Resident Evil: T-Angelus. As you may know, I discontinued the sequel and removed both stories from the site not long ago due to them being what I can only describe as morbidly embarrassing.

With my lovely friend and beta Claire_Burnside267 I am now in the process of completely and utterly re-doing this story to a point where it will be recognisable if you've had the displeasure of reading the original, but still something new and improved, and for once that is not necessarily an oxymoron.

I hope you enjoy it, old readers and new readers alike. I would be honoured if you would give it a chance. Thank you.

**Disclaimer**: Resident Evil and its characters do not belong to me. I make no money from this. Though there are some original characters in this story, I don't assume you would want them and if by some god-unknown reason you do, you're free to abuse them as much as I do. The story itself, however, is not to be reproduced or posted in any way without my expressed permission as I don't want to be trolling the net one day to find I've been MST'd. That would make me cry.

Thank you.

~_KD_


	2. Sleep my love

Resident Evil: T-Angelus

'_Sleep my love, close your eyes...'_

†

* * *

The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, stealing across the floor and onto the bed where they fell upon the sleeping form of Claire Redfield. She opened an eye for a fraction of a second and immediately winced as the bright light assaulted her vision.

Turning over with a small grunt and muffled curse, she pulled her covers over her face, shutting out the offending light. Claire had slept badly the previous night, only succumbing to sleep at five in the morning and it still seemed early yet. The little sleep she had gotten had been haunted by nightmares; filled with visions of blood and monsters.

Visions of Steve…

A knock at her door jolted Claire from her thoughts and she growled. All she wanted was to fall into peaceful dreamless oblivion for a while and catch up on her rest. The knock came again, louder this time and if Claire wasn't imagining it, more obnoxious.

"_What?_" She all but snarled throwing the covers off of her face as Chris Redfield opened the door. The elder Redfield had a tray balanced on one hand and a bemused expression on his face.

"Whoa-k. _Somebody_ is cranky this morning." He chided, winking at his dishevelled sister.

Claire smiled meekly at her sibling. She felt like crap, but Chris' famous grin made it impossible to be annoyed at him. She felt a small stab of guilt at not wanting to speak with her closest friend and only relative; she was just so _tired_…

"Sorry, didn't sleep so well last night.' Claire explained "Is that for me?" She indicated the tray and Chris gave a nod as he brought it over to her nightstand.

"Yeah, breakfast. Couldn't help but notice you've been skipping a lot of meals lately" He said as he set it down. Claire bit her lip and snatched up the glass of cran-apple juice he'd brought her. She tried to ignore the concerned tone in her brother's voice, but how could she tell him the reason she'd been so preoccupied lately was because she had been collecting information on the shadowy organization Albert Wesker reputedly had connections in? He'd only worry more.

All she'd been able to find out was that the team Wesker had lead on Rockfort Island were known as H.C.F; an attack force specialising in covert operation. Though not affiliated with Wesker's organization it was clear they had taken their pay checks from them. It appeared that H.C.F had been hired by Wesker on his organization's behalf and that they had financed the entire operation to retrieve the T-Veronica virus.

H.C.F wasn't the threat. They were obviously a mercenary group who would do anything no matter how sick or illegal for money, but they had nothing to do with the workings of the organization. Claire knew Leon Kennedy was currently involved in an operation to locate and interrogate members in the hopes of finding Wesker, but they'd had no luck so far.

It hadn't been difficult to figure out that Leon was keeping her brother posted on their progress. She'd felt guilty going through Chris' mail, but there was no other way for her to get the information she needed; Chris certainly wasn't about to tell her. The one thing he took more seriously than his job he said was taking care of his little sister. He didn't want her to be involved with the business anymore than she already was. He approved of her work with TerraSave, but ever since the events in Havardville Claire got the feeling Chris would prefer she was back at college fulltime, safe and studying.

And so did Claire. She wished she could just leave it all behind her, but the fact was that she hadn't been the same since Chris had disappeared seven years ago and something inside had compelled her to go after him. Her life had changed in Racoon City and on Rockfort she had known there was no going back.

This time was no different; Claire couldn't just sit on her ass and wait for somebody else to find Wesker. Again, something inside her was pulling and tugging and she simply could not ignore it. After all, the reality was that Wesker was not the person Claire intended to find…

_Steve._

Was he alive? Had he come back like Wesker had said he might? In her heart Claire knew that bastard had probably just been taunting her to hurt Chris, but the seeds of doubt had been planted and she just had to know; what had happened to Steve Burnside?

Memories of her first encounter with Wesker still haunted her nightmares; Claire couldn't deny that she was afraid of him, but maybe if she found out where he was she could find out what happened to Steve. The last thing she wanted to do was face down Albert Wesker alone, on his own turf nonetheless, but it was a chance Claire had no choice but to take. She looked up into Chris' deep blue eyes and saw they were clouded with worry.

"I don't mean to make you worry, Chris.' She said softly "It's just I have all this work to do for TerraSave, not to mention all the school work I've got to catch up on after… After everything that's happened." She looked away again and Chris embraced his little sister.

"I know it's been tough, Claire. But someday soon everything will be back to normal, I promise." He sounded so sure, but Claire shook her head.

"It's already been seven years, Chris! It should have stopped a long time ago. Maybe Umbrella is gone, but what about everything else? Zombies and monsters… And Wesker." She felt Chris' embrace stiffen at the mention of the man.

"You shouldn't worry about him-" he began but Claire cut him off;

"I'm not. Sure, I'm scared as hell of the man, but I'm worried about you. I'm worried that one day you're going to go off without me trying to stop him and that I might lose you.' She said and her voice cracked "I am so, so tired of living everyday thinking it might be the last time I ever see you!"

Chris hugged her tighter and pressed his lips to her hair. When he began to speak his voice was soft and reassuring;

"Claire, I'll get through it, _we'll_ get through it. I know we will. There are a lot of people depending on Wesker being stopped once and for all, so I'll keep trying. If you believe I can do it, there is no way I can fail. So just do that for me, sis. That's all I ask."

They stayed that way for a while; locked in a warm and comforting embrace and when Chris finally pulled away he was smiling.

"Get started on that breakfast, Claire. It's not every day your fantastic brother makes you cinnamon toast.' He touched a finger to her cheek "I'm gonna call Jill." Rising, Chris went to the door, pausing to shoot her a cheerful wink, and then he was gone.

Claire hugged her knees to her chest beneath the covers, cradling her glass in her hands. She barely noticed the tear that splashed into the juice as she whispered;

"I do believe in you, big brother…"

†

_Somewhere in Ecuador…_

It was from the air nothing more than a grey patch sitting in the middle of a sea of green forest. The tourist-filled aircrafts that passed overhead paid it no heed for to them it appeared no more malevolent than a dot.

What looked so insignificant from above was really a vast expanse of concrete and steel that made up a building out of place with its tropical surroundings. Signs on the perimeter fence declared 'Refinería Minera' and to the casual onlooker it did appear to be just another one of the abandoned mining refineries that dotted the rainforest. It seemed innocent enough, but when the misty rains so archetypal of the area dampened the air, the surrounding fence crackled with electricity and the animal carcases at its base continued to moulder secretly in the tall grass.

The refinery was simply a cover for what lay below the surface; an underground complex beneath the jungle known as the Facility. It was made up of laboratories, living quarters, manufacturing plants and numerous secret areas, unknown to many of the Facility's own employees. It dwarfed Umbrella Corporation's Raccoon City laboratories and could have rivalled WilPharma in terms of mass production. However, the Facility did not need to masquerade beneath the façade of a petty pharmaceutical manufacturer. Unlike Umbrella, it remained completely hidden from the public eye, carrying out a single purpose; the creation, manufacture and sale of bio organic weapons.

Built by funds gained from the blood and betrayal of innocents and the evil alike, the Facility was the brainchild of Albert Wesker.

In one of the deepest laboratories the man himself studied a cryostasis unit. The figure suspended inside was that of an auburn haired young man; Steve Burnside, and despite all predictions, he was still alive.

Wesker's lips twitched into a half smile. He had to admit it'd been a surprise when his men had secured Burnside's body for transport and discovered he was breathing, if not shallowly. Wesker had been about to end the boy's suffering when it had occurred to him that a living host of the T-Veronica virus would be more useful to him. The way the mutation had suddenly reversed in Steve also intrigued Wesker; it seemed a step towards discovering a way to stabilize the effects of the virus. Even Alexia Ashford's method of adapting to the virus, spending fifteen years in cryosleep, had proven flawed; the mutations eventually becoming erratic after she spent some time outside a cryostasis unit.

It was already clear that unchecked; mutations from T-Veronica turned the host into tremendously powerful but ungainly and totally mindless killing machines. Perhaps this was useful for the creation of generic weapons but Wesker was certain there was a way to harness the strength the virus leant the host while retaining sentience and preventing erratic mutations. It had been frustrating at first when experiments to stabilize the virus had failed and after the project had run for five years and yielded no results, Wesker had been ready to pull the plug.

But in February of 2003, he had retrieved Umbrella's archives from the Caucasus facility and had discovered something that could potentially revive the project…

An old report told of an expedition carried out right there in Siberia to obtain specimens of prehistoric creatures to study the effectiveness of the T-virus on ancient cells. The researchers had discovered something interesting beneath the permafrost; a single scale from a creature of an unknown genus. It was a discovery that could have received significant attention, but of course Umbrella had kept it secret from the scientific community, choosing instead to harvest the cells and introduce the T-virus to a sample in an attempt to discover just what kind of creature the scale came from.

It had probably just began as an underpaid researcher's side project, something to occupy their time with, but the early results had been enough to secure a large amount of funding from Umbrella; reanimated by the T-virus, the creature that began to grow from the cells appeared similar to a human in its embryonic stage and as it matured into a foetus it began to grow 'wing-like' formations on its back.

The report claimed that the specimen had died due to sudden acute cell degeneration before it reached true foetal stage. It seemed that a host was necessary for it to survive. Surrogate experiments were conducted but resulted in more failure. There had then been an attempt to instead cultivate a pure virus from the cells but the project had been halted in 1998 when all assets had been focussed on completing the T-A.L.O.S project. It had never been started again.

The last note from the researcher in charge had been that he theorized that introducing the T-virus to the cells had somehow caused a mutation within the virus itself. It was well-known that in the absence of suitable Tyrant candidates, the T-virus could normally reanimate dead cells but not heal wounds and was unable to restore sentience in the host, then generally causing grotesque mutations. However, when the virus was introduced to the cells they immediately adapted to its presence and freeze damage caused by millions of years in ice repaired. The head researcher expressed dismay at the abandonment of the project, believing there was a possibility that the cells had the potential to adapt to the T-virus even better than Tyrant candidates.

Wesker had sensed a possibility; if the T-virus could be successfully spliced with the cells, it might hold the key to perfecting T-Veronica as well as the other variants. It was easy enough to obtain the samples from the Caucasus facility and he and his handpicked team of scientists had set out to synthesis a pure viral strain. They already had a test subject harbouring the Veronica virus and now after two years of trial and error, their virus was ready.

The project, once simply named T-A00, had been justly redubbed T-Angelus.

"I suppose today we shall see if you really do come back, Mr. Burnside." Wesker murmured, rather more to himself than the unconscious boy.

His ears suddenly picked up on the sound of soft foot-falls and before she even spoke, Wesker knew Tammy Allen; a young researcher, was standing behind him.

"Excuse me, sir?" She said it as if she were asking a question. Wesker turned to the girl, forcing the disdain from his face as he studied her; what Miss Allen lacked in stature she made up for in intellect; her skill with virology almost on-par with William Birkin's. The sixteen year old red-head had green eyes and would probably have been considered attractive if her face hadn't been so child-like and if she didn't dress in clothing several sizes too large. Wesker had first seen her in the uniform of the private school she had once attended and knew that her baggy clothing hid a mature figure; something that obviously caused her discomfort. She also wore a pair of round glasses she had mentioned she only needed for reading, but it was rare to see her without them on. It seemed that Tammy Allen in fact wore bad clothes as a kind of protection.

Wesker realized however that it would be foolish to dismiss Tammy for her age and the accompanying teen insecurities; after all he and William Birkin had entered Umbrella in their teens. Wesker had recruited Tammy specially, at the time unaware of her age, because of a brilliant article on the use of viruses in curing rare diseases submitted to the Virology Journal by a Tamsin C. Ellen, Ph.D. When Wesker had finally tracked down Tammy Allen, not at all a doctor of philosophy, the terrified teenager was mortified that someone had discovered her deception. She had then been surprised, and flattered, when Wesker had told her he was impressed with her findings and that he had a job he would like to offer her if she was interested.

Despite her genius with science, Tammy also seemed quite naïve and it was easy to gain her trust. Case and point was her reaction to Steve Burnside; at first apprehensive and maybe even the slightest bit suspicious, Tammy had calmed down immediately when Wesker produced the "proper" paperwork to convince her Steve was there by his own choice. Fabricating stories for her was tiring as was remembering to insert contact lenses each day to hide his unnatural eye colour, but it was preferable to having to eliminate her and find a replacement.

"Is there a problem, Miss Allen?" He asked smoothly and noted the slight blush that spread across her face.

"Sir, we're ready to begin' she said to the floor "the virus, i-it's ready." Wesker grasped her hand in his and though the contact was light, Tammy's blush deepened.

"Thank you Miss Allen.' Wesker said, voice layered with practised sincerity "Where is the sample?" Tammy's reply was so soft is was barely audible;

"Damien… is bringing it now, sir." She gently pulled her hand from his and clearly uncomfortable, continued to stare down the floor. She barely looked up as the door to the lab opened, revealing Damien Saunders, a blonde lab assistant of about twenty. Good-looking, in a run of the mill kind of way, Damien's story was that he'd been fired from his job teaching English at a school in Guayaquil for stealing equipment. Desperate for work, he had answered one of the Facility's calls for lab assistants a few months ago. Even though he understood just what was happening, it was evident he was smart enough not to try running away.

"There's my girl.' Damien said, flashing Tammy a smile "Stop flirting with the boss, babe."

Wesker hated Damien for his casual disrespect but since Tammy seemed to consider him a friend, keeping him around was worth it to keep her relaxed. It obviously pained Damien that Tammy could not grasp what was really happening, but as long as he was aware that Wesker would quite gladly snap her neck if Damien should ever prove a threat to the security of the Facility, he held his tongue.

"The virus, Saunders." Wesker managed to refrain from growling at Damien. The shorter man turned to him, the warmth in his gaze fading immediately.

"Coming right up, sir." He said, handing the vial over to Wesker. His voice was tight with suppressed loathing but Tammy didn't seem to notice as she fetched a syringe gun from the instrument table. She handed it to Wesker, looking anxious.

"Do you think it will work, sir? That Steve will be well again?" She asked. The way she referred to Steve like an old friend irked Wesker somewhat but he forced a smile.

"Of course, my dear." He said, giving his voice a reassuring edge. He didn't miss the venomous look Damien shot towards him as he drained the fluid from Steve's cryo unit. Tammy watched as it opened and Steve slumped gently into Damien's waiting arms. Her green eyes were filled with excited anxiety.

"I'll finally get to meet him." She said happily, missing the subtle twitch in Wesker's facial muscles.

_I wouldn't be so enthusiastic_ Wesker thought with dark amusement _After all, your life may depend on how much or how little he remembers…_

Steve's body was nearly weightless in Damien's arms, seven years of immobility having caused his muscles to atrophy, and it was easy to move him onto the operating table, securing restraints around his stick thin wrists and ankles. Tammy blinked in confusion.

"Why are we tying him down?" She asked, suddenly sounding grave.

"Just a precaution, Miss Allen.' Wesker replied smoothly "In the case of muscular spasms; we don't want Mr. Burnside to cause any harm to himself or to us." Tammy smiled meekly.

"Of course… I forgot." She said, feeling foolish.

As Wesker loaded the vial into the syringe gun, Tammy prepped a vein in Steve's arm; swabbing the area with disinfectant. After she had finished she let her hand linger for a short moment on Steve's emaciated arm, as if to comfort him.

"I believe it is time we attempt to wake our young friend." Wesker said, placing the gun against Steve's arm. The moment the aquamarine-dyed strain entered his veins, all hell broke loose;

Steve's eyes flew open and a piercing keen echoed from his throat causing Tammy and Damien to clutch their hands over their ears. They watched as Steve's skin began to bubble and shift to a green hue, darker patches of scale erupting at random. Before their eyes his atrophied muscles bulked out and he began to thrash upon the table, breaking one of his restraints and flailing the free arm wildly.

Wesker pulled Tammy back before she was hit and watched as Steve's teeth elongated. He gave a final cry before his eyes rolled back in his skull and he slumped on the table, breathing heavily.

"W…What have we done?" Tammy sounded shocked as she gazed at the strange yet beautiful creature Steve had become. None of her research had pointed to such a dramatic physical change. Wesker just smirked triumphantly.

"We have created the future."

As Damien moved closer to Steve, perhaps to check if he was alright, wings suddenly forced themselves from his back, splattering blood everywhere and knocking Damien back so hard that he hit his head on the far wall before he crumpled to the floor. Tammy gasped and ran to help while Wesker's smirk widened.

"Welcome back, Mr. Burnside."

†

_In California…_

It was not hard to imagine the sadness and disappointment Claire knew she would see on Chris' face if he caught her raiding his office. She tried to push it to the back of her mind as she rifled through the papers on the desk, her flashlight clenched awkwardly between her teeth and praying it wouldn't fall out.

She knew something was up because when she'd been on her way to take a shower, the mailman had knocked on the door and delivered the post straight into Chris's hand and later she had spied him going into his office with a large manila envelope; the kind Leon always sent when he had something big to share.

Claire had snuck into the office at three AM and upon discovering the empty envelope in the trash, cursed. Her brother's desk was a mess as usual and she was stuck sifting through police reports and files she'd already read. She spat her flashlight into her hand and scanned the beam over the desk until it hit a folder marked with the Great Seal; not a S.T.A.R.S report then, it had to be from Leon.

Claire jammed the flashlight back in her mouth, biting back a loud curse when it hit her painfully in the teeth. She got a better grip on it and opened the folder, causing a handwritten page to slip from inside and flutter to the desk. Claire recognized the handwriting as Leon's, but her brow furrowed slightly at the length of the letter; he usually wrote little more than notes consisting of '_this may be of interest to you – L'_

'_Chris,' _the letter began '_the files have all the info, but to summarise; we may have a problem. _

_Wesker is NOT with the Organization. At least not anymore. We finally caught one of those slippery bastards and all we could get out of him was that they figured out Wesker was the traitor type but he managed to take off with a number of their financial assets before they could do much. _

_It's not for sure, but we may know where Wesker has run too. See, the CIA lent us an agent for recon in Ecuador a while back to try and piece together why rumours of black market b.o.w trade have sky rocketed there. Couldn't send more because it is way outside our jurisdiction and we'd be royally fucked if what we're doing came to light. Anyway, he found out that at the same time the rumour mill went haywire, a large amount of construction had recently been completed out in the rainforest. He was supposed to do some recon and report back to us, but he's not contacted us for months. Either he has gone deep undercover or whoever is out in that jungle knows they're being watched. Survey says Wesker._

_There is another reason I sent all this to you, Chris. See, we tried to get the guy we caught to tell us just what Wesker took from them and he was vague on most of it, but one thing he said caught my attention; Wesker definitely took one cryostasis unit with him, we figured it was a Tyrant weapon but our guy said it was 'just a kid, a young guy.'_

Claire's heart leapt into her throat.

_Chris, obviously we know Wesker has sold T-Veronica before; I remember briefing you after Operation Javier. That's why I'm almost certain that Wesker still has Steve Burnside with him, alive or why keep him in cryostasis? I know you said he helped your sister and if I know Claire, I'd say that if she finds out he is alive she'll take off to rescue him. Whether you tell her or not is up to you, but I'd wait until we can figure out what the hell happened to our agent. None of us can move until we have hard facts anyway. _

_I'll contact you with more when I can. It could be a while so until then, just relax. And because I know recklessness runs in the family, __don't__ do anything stupid. And don't give me that look; Claire would be devastated if something happened to you and as much as I love her, I'd make a lousy big brother compared to you. _

_Seriously Redfield. Don't do anything stupid._

_-L_

Claire put the letter down slowly, her hands shaking. She felt a strange mixture of anger and love towards both Chris and Leon. She knew they were looking out for her, but how the hell could they keep this from her?

"_Steve_…" She breathed and fear rode waves of nausea in her gut. It was worse than she had imagined, but now she had a definite lead; it seemed as if her only chance to find Steve alive lay inside the Ecuadorian rainforest…

Her voice of reason pleaded with her to reconsider, to wait until Leon got back to Chris with more information but Claire knew she couldn't wait. It had taken the government agent months to get this information to Chris, how long could she stand to spend waiting for an answer now that she knew Steve could be alive?

Claire closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm rapidly beating heart. Reason, she had discovered a long time ago, sometimes had to be callously thrown out the window in order to do what was right, and it looked like there was only one answer here.

As scared as she was of Wesker, as terrified as she was of what he could do to her or Chris, Claire could only focus on the hate she had felt when he dared to _taunt_ her with Steve. She could only hear her voice filled with venom commanding Wesker not to touch him and she could only feel Chris' hands pulling her back. For one moment, it had felt as if she could take him on and win. In order to do what was right, Claire knew she could not afford to let go of that rage.

"Steve…' She whispered "I _will_ find you."


	3. The void that cries through you

†

"_Send a heartbeat to the void that cries through you…"_

* * *

_Three months after the Los Illuminados incident, Ada Wong had been carrying out another assignment for the Organization; the retrieval of a sample of Smallpox virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, a simple enough task for an agent of her calibre… _

Ada returned to the apartment she had been provided with, satisfied with her progress in her mission; the security guard to the virus vault was about to crack under the force of her charms. Her pretty face wore a soft smile at the thrill of imminent success…

The sun was disappearing by the time Ada unlocked her door though some rays still filtered weakly between the buildings. Entering and then shutting the door behind her, the agent gave a contented sigh, kicking off her high-heels and then making for the kitchen. Putting her bag down on the counter Ada then turned to the fridge and opened it; studying the contents within. Smiling, she pulled out the bottle of champagne she had been saving for the completion of her mission, but she was already in a celebratory mood. Expensive champagne was one of Ada's vices, and a treat she allowed herself for a job well done.

Removing the steel cage and foil cap, Ada was about to pop the cork when she became aware of somebody standing behind her, and only because they were allowing her to…

"Tarlant Prestige 1998? Fine choice, Miss Wong."

… _He's found me._

Ada took a deep breath, disguising it as a sigh of disdain "hello Wesker' she kept her voice calm as she turned slowly "Champagne?" she offered, judging if he would be able to stop her from going for her handbag and the small pistol inside it. Perhaps if she could break his line of sight for just a second…

"Thank you, but no. We have pressing matters to discuss." Wesker replied, expression neutral. Ada however wore a grin that spoke of barely concealed hostility.

"Really? That's a shame,' she lamented, loosening the cork from the champagne "It's a really good _vintage!_" And with that she shot the cork directly at Wesker's face and dove for her bag…

The fact that she almost made it was quite remarkable; Wesker snatched the projectile cork out of the air before it hit him and moved in a blink of an eye, smashing Ada's hand that held her bag painfully into the countertop and keeping it pinned there. The female agent winced at the feeling of the delicate bones in her hand grinding together.

"Commendable, Miss Wong. Very interesting use of your surroundings." Wesker said smoothly and Ada cursed inwardly that he actually sounded amused at her attempt. She tried not to think about the fact that if he so cared to, he could relocate his hand to her neck and snap it like a twig, concentrating instead on just how the hell she was supposed to get out of this mess.

"Ok Wesker, you got me. Let's talk." She said a little breathlessly, forcing herself to look him in the eyes. The true intensity of those red-gold orbs was hidden behind his trademark sunglasses, but what Ada could see was enough to send an irrepressible shiver down her spine

_Inhuman, demon…_

"Indeed.' Wesker said sounding almost bored, as if he had been looking forward to more tricks from her "I came to extend to you an offer." Ada blinked.

"Not to kill me?" She blurted out and then snapped her mouth shut. _Remain calm and collected in _any_ situation, remember?_

Wesker looked mildly bemused "that would depend on whether or not you take my offer." He said lightly. Ada felt a particularly painful twinge from her hand shoot all the way up her arm and barely managed to keep her face straight.

"And what, pray tell, does your offer entail?" She asked and Wesker smirked.

"Work for me, Ada. Your past slip up… It can be forgotten." His voice was draped in a deceptively soft tone and Ada narrowed her eyes.

"The catch?" She bit out, her hand beginning to lose feeling. She saw his eyes flash behind his glasses and something about it made it feel as if the bottom of her stomach was dropping away.

"No catch, my dear. But do keep in mind what will happen if you refuse…' Wesker reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled something out. He dropped it unceremoniously on the table next to Ada's pinned hand and motioned for her to look. Reluctant to break eye contact with him, Ada grudgingly tore her gaze away and looked down at the object… And froze. Wesker's smirk widened a fraction but all Ada could do was stare at the innocent teddy bear keychain like her world was caving in.

_Leon…_

"Where did you get that?" She whispered hoarsely. Wesker's gloved hand cupped her chin and he turned her face back towards his.

"From Mr. Kennedy's desk, I'm sure you'll be flattered to know he keeps it next to a picture of his family and other treasured memorabilia.' He said flatly seeing her face grow white "Understand, Ada? You slip up or you betray me again and you will watch him suffer until he draws his last breath."

Tears threatened to well up in Ada's eyes but she held them back as she tried for one last deception.

"What makes you think I care enough that I would live under your thumb, Wesker?" She ground out but he just laughed and leaned in close so that their eyes were level.

"I can see it in your eyes, my dear. They are called the windows to the soul for a reason."

And Ada did cry then. For the first time in many years she wept because there was nothing she could do; because Wesker had her and because he had seen her weakness, exploited it and now she was his…

Sitting in her quarters within the facility almost a year later, Ada wondered for the umpteenth time if the reason she was still alive was not that she was useful to Wesker but because he wanted to punish her. She wouldn't put it past him to use her as an example to his subordinates. _This is what happens to traitors_ he seemed to say.

Ada had done things she wasn't proud of as an agent, but what Wesker would make her do… She shivered at the memory of the people she had killed; their faces and their blood. Their screams and pleas for their lives. Ada had forced herself to do it all with a straight face, to try not to choke on the bile that rose in her throat each time she pulled the trigger.

Whole families had been ripped apart just because Wesker needed it done. And she was the instrument of his destruction.

Ada had allowed herself the luxury of crying the first few weeks she had worked for the Facility, but her tears had long since dried up; she'd never been much of a crier anyway. Now she hadn't even the will to try and do anything but that which was asked of her. Only once had she ever tried to contact Leon and warn him, and somehow Wesker had known. The face that answered her video call had not possessed soft grey eyes and a gentle mouth, but eyes like a demon and a hard jaw tense with displeasure.

"_What are you doing, Ada?_"

The agent winced at the memory of how she had begged for Leon's life and her own. Her punishment had been excruciating and she still bore the scars, but she had endured because it was what she had to do to save him. Ada dared not try to contact him again.

And now it seemed as if things were about to get a lot worse; she had heard that little fool Tammy Allen babbling to her lab assistant about Steve's progress and had known Wesker's virus had worked. Most of the missions he had given her had been to benefit the project and now that it was ready Ada had very few doubts as to what it would be used for; Wesker would surely desire the elimination of his foes before he moved on to his other twisted ambitions.

It was part of Ada's job to know about the players wrapped up in this morbid game, so she had a good understanding of Wesker's history with Chris Redfield. Leon seemed to be working with Chris to locate where Wesker was and what he was doing. If Chris were to be lured to the Facility, certainly Leon would too.

And just how long would Wesker keep her around? How long until she was to be counted a liability?

Ada shook her head. She couldn't just sit by and let it happen, but what else could she do? Even if she escaped, Wesker would punish Leon for it. Could she really live with herself if that happened? He had been the only person who had ever actually cared about her in her life; there had been men like John, but it hadn't been real; not like with Leon. In Racoon city, she had been callous towards him when they'd first met, but he'd pursued her, insistent that if they worked together they could escape. He'd just been a rookie cop, thrown green into an unspeakable situation, yet he'd cared about what happened to her. He'd saved her life and despite all her attempts to make him leave her, despite everything she tried to quell the sensation building in her chest whenever she looked at him, Ada had fallen hard.

What she felt for Leon was the only true thing she had ever had. When she had lain there in his arms, positive that she was dying, there had been no more lies. No more mission. There had only been him and the love she felt. And she'd known it was real.

"Damn it!" She cried, hitting her hand against the wall in frustration; all her rage and sorrow bursting outwards. Ada knew she'd done a number on her hand, but that hardly mattered now…

_Oh, Leon…_

"Your hand is bleeding." Somebody said softly. Ada's head snapped up to see Damien Saunders the lab assistant standing by the door and her eyes narrowed.

"What's it to you?" She asked bitterly. Damien moved towards her and knelt by her bed, catching her injured hand in his.

"You might want to get that checked out. See that nothing is broken." He said quietly. Ada was about to tell him to go away when she felt him press something into the palm of her hand. She looked questioningly at him, but he gave her a small smile.

"I've gotta go. I was supposed to meet with John at 8:30 and its two minutes passed.' He rose and went to the door, pausing to throw her a wink and then he was gone.

Ada sat stunned. By the feel of it, he'd slipped her a note of some kind. Did he know that she was being monitored? What he'd said last had caught her attention for some reason…

_Meeting with John at 8:30? And its two minutes passed… _They way he had spoken made it seem as if there was more information in that sentence then initially let on. What had he meant? _John, 8:30 and 2… Wait… John, 8:30, 2… John 8:32! 'You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' _

The motto of the CIA.

Ada's heart swelled at the first spark of hope she had felt in a long time. Was Damien trying to tell her that he was an agent? She prayed she was right. Hopefully his note would shed some light on it.

Focussing on the pain in her hand, Ada summoned tears to her eyes and pretended to weep. She hunched over her injury, clutching her hands to her chest giving the appearance of a woman who had lost all hope. Secretly, she used her uninjured hand to gently open the piece of paper hidden in her palm and keeping her head bowed, squinted to read the tiny writing;

_My room, midnight tomorrow._

Ada put her hands to her mouth and pretended to suck on her wound, drawing the paper into her mouth and chewing it. The destroyed note slid down her throat uncomfortably, but there was no chance it would be found now. She hoped Damien had a plan or at least some useful information. She didn't find the CIA to be all that trustworthy but if it meant her ticket out of here and if it meant Leon's life, she couldn't afford not to take whatever aid he could offer her.

_Hold on, there may be hope yet…_

†

_In California…_

The hour had just hit twelve as Claire pulled on her new jacket. It was supple white leather with blue sleeves and boasted her initials on the left breast pocket. The back had an illustration of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory with her wings unfurled and reaching for the sky. The inscription above the goddess was 'Spread Your Wings.' Yet another song by Queen. Claire smiled, the guy who made her jackets didn't get her taste in music, but he was always pleased to come up with designs for her. Even if she did tease him about being an excellent seamstress.

Shoji Tetsuhiko not only made motorcycle gear, he bought and sold bikes too. The son of a Japanese business empire, Shoji had enough money to set him up for life. He'd chosen motorcycles as a hobby, he said, because it pissed off his traditionalist father but had somewhere along the way genuinely fallen in love with them.

He and Claire were good friends through their common interest and he was the one she'd gone to see about borrowing an on and off-road bike…

"Getting off the road and into the dirt for once, Claire-san?" He'd said. Shoji had left his accent behind after years of living in the states, but it was his particular habit to throw the odd word of Japanese into his sentences. Claire sometimes indulged him by replying in her limited high school Japanese.

"_Hai_, something like that Ducati I had back in school. Nothing too ugly. You know if I could use the Harley, I would." She'd said slightly mournfully. Shoji's eyes had lit up at the mention of it.

"Leave the Harley as collateral and you won't have to pay the borrowing fee, Claire-san." He'd said smoothly, causing Claire to narrow her eyes

"Uh-huh… You wouldn't be planning on riding it, would you?" She'd asked suspiciously and Shoji had raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Ride it? _Ore? _Of course not, Claire-san! I just want to look at it." He'd said, gazing wistfully over at the Harley where it was parked at the entrance of the garage. Claire sighed.

"Fine, just don't let me come back here and find you've tinkered with it.' She'd looked around the rows of bikes "now what have you got for me?" Shoji had pointed at a sleek black model with an oil-stained finger.

"Ducati Multistrada 620. Practically an off-road capable version of your old bike. _Suteki da ne?_" Claire had examined it and nodded grudgingly.

"Yeah, I guess it isn't hideous…" While Claire could ride anything, she was partial to Harleys over newer motorcycles. There was no way the high-pitched whine of bikes these days could match the deep sensual purr of a Harley…

"Take it for a spin, Claire-san.' Shoji suggested "I know you haven't tried any of those stunt moves since Daytona two years back..." He wheedled and Claire smiled wickedly before swinging a leg over the bike and starting it up.

Claire pulled the bike out into Shoji's courtyard and revved the bike a few things before taking off. She gained speed and executed a perfect tailspin, the end of the bike turning gracefully in the air before she let it back down, noting the excellent suspension. She revved up and tore back into the garage, pulling a stoppie not two feet from Shoji. Used to these kinds of antics, he'd just raised a fine black eyebrow.

"_De-wa,_ Claire-san; anything else you need now that you have threatened my life?" He'd said sarcastically.

"Yeah.' She'd replied, jumping off the bike grinning "A new jacket."

Despite what she had said, Claire was actually glad Shoji had the Harley… If anything happened to her, he was the first person she wanted to have it.

Shaking off the unpleasant notion of failure, Claire zipped up her jacket and retrieved the photocopies she'd made of the files Leon had sent; they contained the coordinates she needed to actually find the place he'd mentioned in his letter. She folded these carefully and placed them in her backpack along with a compass, flashlight, medical kit, some money, her passport and international drivers permit. Her lighter she carefully zipped into her left breast pocket. Feeling its small weight against her chest, Claire felt a deep sadness and guilt at leaving Chris the way she was but she'd made up her mind. She couldn't think about backing down now.

She had used one of Chris' connections to secure unobstructed transport to Ecuador; when in the air force Chris had defied orders to save the life of his fellow pilot Donovan Patricks when a training exercise had gone wrong, leading to Chris being discharged from duty without honours. Donovan felt as if he permanently owed Chris, so when Claire contacted him and asked for a favour, he had obliged.

"I won't question ya, lil' sister. I owe that brother of yours big." He'd said over the phone when she had explained what she needed.

Claire hoped Donovan wouldn't end up in trouble for helping her. It was a big risk, but it had to be taken. There was no way she was going to Ecuador without a gun and this was the only way it could happen. He was going to be waiting for her at Daugherty Field airport in Long Beach. Claire didn't know what he had told the people there but she'd left it up Donovan to fabricate whatever story he needed to. It looked like they were in the clear. At least for now.

This way she could take the bike with her. There were a few miles of dirt road she could travel before she hit dense jungle and would have to continue on foot.

Pushing any doubts out of her head, Claire grabbed her holster with the Beretta in it from her draw. Chris had actually been the one to insist she get the licence and keep up her practise with it. He'd taught her in the first place, after all. Checking the safety, Claire carefully placed it in her pack along with several boxes of ammo and then picked up her boots.

Before she left her room she glanced at the photo of her, Chris and Jill taken the previous Christmas and the determined look in her eyes softened for a moment.

"Take care of him, Jilly.' She murmured to the picture "He'll need you now more than ever."

She put the photo face down and nudged her door open. It swung gently on the hinges without a noise as Claire had poured cooking oil over them to prevent them squeaking; a trick she'd used to sneak out of her room unnoticed as a teen. Proceeding to tip-toe down the hall, she paused for a moment to tape a note to the front door and then crept outside, making for the garage. She'd left it open to minimize any noise and was glad Chris hadn't discovered it. Inside, she bent to pull on and lace up her boots then grabbed her helmet from a shelf before going to the back where her bike hid beneath a tarpaulin. Luckily Chris knew better than to mess with her bikes, so he'd not disturbed it. That would have lead to questions Claire was unsure she'd be able to answer convincingly.

Moving the tarps aside, Claire wheeled the bike slowly out of the garage and down the street. When she reached the end she mounted the bike kick-started it up. Before she put on her helmet, she gazed upwards at the starry sky.

_Please, just let me find him… Please._

Strapping on her helmet and closing the visor, Claire tore away into the night all the while trying not think about her brother and trying even harder not to cry.

†

_In Ecuador…_

Twice Wesker had been cheated out of taking his revenge against Chris Redfield; once on Rockfort and then later in the Antarctic. With the success of T-Angelus, he felt it was finally time to remedy the situation. It was time to set a plan in motion.

It was not enough to simply kill the man who insisted on being such a thorn in his side. It was only fair that he should be made to suffer. Chris was the kind of man who responded better to threats against his loved-ones than threats against himself; this was evident by the way he had rushed in headlong to Rockfort Island to rescue his sibling.

So… Claire Redfield was the ideal instrument to use against Chris. And what better way than to turn her against him? Steve was showing excellent response to Wesker's experimental P30 serum; not only did it further enhance the physical strength lent to him by T-Angelus, it kept him controllable. Unlike regular human test subjects who metabolized the serum too quickly and had to wear devices to ensure constant flow of the serum into the bloodstream, Steve in his mutated form metabolized it slowly, leaving him susceptible to suggestion for up to twelve hours.

Human subjects also occasionally resisted control if they saw or heard something that triggered a strong memory of their past. Steve did not seem to have this problem. Wesker suspected he was amnesiac from years spent in cryo-sleep and this prevented resistance. So long as doses of P30 were administered every twelve hours, Steve remained firmly under Wesker's control.

There were several American government agencies who suspected Wesker had something going on in Ecuador; of course they only knew as much as he had seen fit to leak to them. Leon S. Kennedy belonged to one of the more prominent ones, and Wesker was certain he had communicated with Chris on the matter. So they knew where they could find him; all that was left was to secure Claire and let Chris know that he had her. That would surely be enough to lure him here.

He'd not given any of the agencies enough proof to allow them to conduct any kind of military offensive against the Facility. The force Redfield would no doubt bring with him would have to be relatively small. Once they were taken care of, Wesker would make sure Chris suffered greatly at the hands of his own sister before he dealt him the final blow.

Glancing sideways at the security monitor, Wesker studied Ada Wong who sat on her bed, her face kept carefully neutral. He had at first planned to get rid of the troublesome woman, but he did need somebody with inner knowledge of the Facility to guide Chris through it. Though he needed to take care of whatever little tag team was accompanying him, Chris himself could not be allowed to die. Wesker wanted to make sure he reached the lowest level of the Facility where he would wait for him. It seemed Miss Wong still had a purpose.

Wesker was certain Ada would run once Claire fell into his hands. It was only natural that she would assume this to mean she would be terminated. If that was not the case, he would allow her to discover that the threat to Leon was simply a ruse; Kennedy had somehow slipped from beneath the watchful eyes of his agents long ago. The keychain had been a wonderfully clever trick on his part.

With T-Angelus, Wesker had all he needed to achieve his greatest ambitions but first he would have his revenge. He looked down at the monitor showing Steve, for the moment sleeping peacefully in his cell, and smirked.

_Soon…_ he thought.


	4. False inertia

†

"_Pulled by a false inertia, pushed out by circumstance__…"_

* * *

It was pitch black when Claire pulled up outside a diner near Daugherty field airport in Long Beach. As she had been driving, clouds had covered the sky and she wondered if it was going to rain.

She still had an hour before she had to meet Donovan. Claire had left herself some spare time to grab a cup of coffee and maybe something to eat. The flight was going to be long and because they were to be travelling in a former military cargo plane, it looked like it was going to be uncomfortable too. Claire wished she'd thought to bring a book.

Shaking her head, Claire pulled the bike into one of the parking spaces around the back of the diner and cut the engine before swinging her leg over the bike. She glanced upwards where a sign proclaimed '_Clarisse's Diner and Truck Stop_' in red neon letters. Evidently this was where all the truckers delivering to the airport stopped.

Claire went around the front, pulling off her helmet and tucking it beneath her arm. A fat rain drop fell onto her cheek just as she had a hand on the door and she frowned slightly before pushing it open. A bell chimed as she entered the diner and thirty pairs of eyes turned simultaneously to stare at the pretty stranger.

As Claire made her way to the counter she let her gaze leisurely sweep the room, making brief eye contact with as many people as possible. Chris had once explained to her that people were generally intimidated by eye contact so doing this would ensure she was less likely to be harassed. Sure enough, everyone she locked gazes with immediately returned to their coffee or meals and she was free to move to the counter and take a seat.

Just as she was sitting however, one man she had evidently missed slapped her rear quite unexpectedly. Claire spun around and glared, he just gave her the most lecherous grin she had received in her life.

"Don't. Do that. Again." She said warningly. The lecher's grin widened and he shot out his hand only to have Claire punch him right in the nose. Falling off his stool with an undignified yelp, the man was almost immediately clambering back to his feet and rounding on Claire.

"You fucking _bitch_! I'll call the goddamn cops! I'll-" He stopped as Claire calmly held up a hand.

"And tell them what? That one, you slapped me on the ass, two, I told you not to do it again, and three, I had to physically stop you from touching me? I have maybe thirty witnesses here who will tell the cops that's exactly what happened.' Claire said, ticking the reasons off on her fingers "And also? My brother just happens to be the captain of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service's LA branch. I'm pretty sure he could dig up dirt on you that'll equal more time in jail than I'm ever getting. So tell me… Do you really want to do this?" She smiled sweetly at his stunned look.

Eventually, he pulled himself together, threw some money on the counter and bolted for the door where he threw one last jab at her over his shoulder;

"Fuckin whore."

"Just because your boyfriend likes me more." Claire retorted. The diner was dead silent for a moment before erupting into applause and a few wolf-whistles. The man left, red-faced with shame.

Claire threw a gracious smile at the patrons before finally sitting down on a stool, folding her arms on top of the counter. A woman with enormous blonde hair and wearing a waitress uniform wandered over, a mega-watt smile on her face.

"Well sugar, that was a pretty impressive show back there.' She said "I have to thank ya for livenin' up an otherwise dull night!" Her voice was tinged with a warm Southern drawl and Claire found herself immediately liking this woman.

"No biggie.' She replied "Can't put up with those kinds of guys, after all." The woman laughed heartily.

"That pervert is always here 'round this time. Spends more time tryin' to look down my shirt than he does orderin' anything. Hope you chased him away for good." Claire remembered just how tired she was feeling.

"Speaking of coffee I could really do with a cup, ma'am." The woman winked at her.

"None of that ma'am piffle, honey. It's Clarisse. Now lemme get ya that coffee and something to eat. No charge, you've given me a good story to tell in ten years when I'm sure I'll still own this dump." She said. Claire beamed.

"Thank you!' She said gratefully "I'm Claire, by the way." Clarisse winked.

"Pleased to meet ya, Claire." She bustled off to fetch the coffee. When she returned she held a steaming mug and a plate with a raspberry Danish.

"Eat up, sugar and enjoy.' She said "I'll be over there taking care of these boys if you need anything" with a parting smile she went off to serve a pair truckers who had just come in.

Claire took a grateful bite of the Danish and swig of coffee; the pastry tasted homemade and the coffee was newly brewed. She gave a contented smile.

"Excuse me miss, would you have a light I could borrow?" asked an elderly trucker next to her.

"Sure" Claire replied and fished it out of her pocket. As she flipped the top a small folded note fell out of it onto the countertop. Hurriedly offering the lighter to the man and retrieving it once he had lit his cigarette, Claire unfolded the note.

_Surprise, baby sister _it read _after last time I thought it would be good for you to have a way to contact me . I got an old friend to put a micro tracker in the lighter. Push and hold the button on the base hard for five seconds and it will activate. Don't over-react, I love you._

_Chris._

Turning the lighter over Claire spotted the tiny black button. She felt her eyes mist up and smiled, holding the lighter to her chest.

"Thank you, you over-protective jerk." She whispered softly.

†

_In Ecuador… _

Even in her baggy sweater, Tammy could feel a chill and it wasn't anything to do with the fact that the lab was kept at a carefully controlled 30°F.

Tammy did not often speak what was on her mind and this lead some to believe she was naive, as did the way she rarely questioned the instructions given to her. In truth, Tammy possessed a keen gut instinct for when something was wrong…

Something was telling her now that things were not quite right; though she was unsure precisely what. Looking at Steve's sleeping face as she conducted a routine vitals check; she prayed they could find some way to help him control his mutation. All she really knew about Steve was what Wesker had told her; Steve had obtained his injuries in a car accident some years earlier. He was a voluntary subject in the project and had no living family. Herself an orphan, Tammy had made a promise that she would do absolutely everything she could to save him

When she had conducted small scale tests of the virus on human cells, she saw that the virus acted in the same way stem cell therapy did in repairing damaged tissue. Tammy had hoped that it could repair the organ damage Steve had suffered. And it had done just that, but she couldn't have predicted the side effects. She wondered if they had been too hasty to use it on Steve; willing or not, with an outcome like this it didn't seem right.

"I'm sorry Steve.' She murmured to him "I just wanted to help. If I can put it right, I will." Tammy absently squeezed his hand and was surprised to feel him squeezing back. She calmed herself by remembering it wasn't a totally uncommon reflex for unconscious people. But he suddenly opened his eyes.

Tammy tried to pull her hand from his but he was now holding on tight. As he pulled himself into a sitting position Tammy saw that his eyes were unfocussed and bleary. He looked delirious and she was uncertain if he was actually seeing her or his surroundings for what they really were.

"Claire?" He rasped in a voice hoarse from disuse.

"Who…? No, my name is Tamsin Allen, Steve. You've been asleep for a long time." She said, trying to stay calm even as his grip tightened and he began to pull her towards him.

"Claire, I love you… Please" Steve croaked, his free hand coming up to the back of her head and pulling her mouth down to his.

Tammy screamed.

Suddenly she was being pulled backwards into someone else's arms. She looked up wildly to see Wesker but he wasn't looking at her. He absently steadied her by the waist, gaze fixed on Steve.

"It seems Mr. Burnside is having a spell of delirium.' He said calmly, almost coldly.

"Sir? Is he going to be alright?" Tammy asked, acutely aware of Wesker's hands on her waist.

"Don't worry Miss Allen; I'm sure he will be fine" he replied as he let go of her, his voice still carrying that chilled edge. Tammy looked back to Steve in bewilderment as he weakened and slumped back down on his cot.

"Claire… Claire…" He moaned softly, unconsciousness once more taking hold.

†

Leaving the diner, Claire was returning to her bike when she was grabbed from behind and dragged into a dark corner by a dumpster. The smell of garbage and the cheap whiskey on her attacker's breath assaulted her.

"Fuckin' _bitch_." He whispered and Claire actually felt the urge to roll her eyes.

_Great, this idiot again…_

Ignoring the way he was drunkenly trying to grasp the zipper on her pants; Claire threw her head back hard into his nose and heard the crunch of cartilage. Howling in pain, he pushed her away from him. Claire managed to keep from stumbling and pivoted on one foot, using the momentum to throw a well-directed kick into his groin. He crumpled to his knees, eyes bulging and Claire knocked him down for good with a front kick to the face.

She checked that he was truly unconscious and grudgingly rolled him into the recovery position, sighing.

"You're lucky I don't just let you drown in your own blood." Claire murmured as she yanked off his greasy coat, shaking the contents of the pockets out before she rolled it up and placed it beneath his head to keep it elevated. She glanced at what had fallen out of the pockets and saw a knife nestled between the tattered wallet and whiskey bottle. Picking it up and drawing it from the sheath Claire examined the blade.

"Says here Mark III Navy… Now I'm not positive, but I'm _pretty_ sure this isn't yours.' She said to the unconscious man "Guess I'll take it then." Claire stood, pocketing the knife and retrieving her helmet from where she had dropped it when she was grabbed.

Returning to her bike she pulled on her helmet and started the bike's engine. She gave the unconscious moron one more glance and smiled lightly.

"Thanks for the knife." Claire said before she tore back out onto the road.

†

As Claire and Donovan were flying over Mexico, Chris was dozing as the late morning sunlight slid languidly into his bedroom. His blue eyes opened slowly and he gazed foggily at his alarm clock;

10:00AM.

"… Shit!" He exclaimed and leapt out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom and hurriedly stripping off his boxers. Turning on the shower, Chris winced as the cold spray hit him, haphazardly scrubbing with one hand and brushing his teeth with the other. He'd meant to be at a breakfast meeting with Jill, Rebecca and Barry twenty minutes ago. Thankfully it was in a nearby café but it still meant he'd have to forgo shaving today.

Chris towelled himself dry, shaking out his wet hair so the strands stood up in unruly spikes. He dressed quickly and grabbed his keys and wallet from the nightstand, only just remembering to pull on socks. As he raced past Claire's room, he noticed the door was open and figured she must have left somewhere for the day. At the front door he bent to lace up his Nikes and quickly bolted to his car.

In his hurry, he'd missed the note taped to the door…

It took Chris a further ten minutes to reach the café. When he'd finally found a park he saw the others sitting outside at a small table. He grinned sheepishly at them as he made his way over.

"I'm sorry, clock didn't go off. Don't kill me." Chris was relieved to see that they didn't look angry.

"Nice to see you, Chris.' Barry said "We were starting to think you weren't going to show up."

"Yeah partner, I thought I'd better come and check if you were alive." Jill added, squeezing his arm as he sat down next to her. Chris shot her a flirty grin.

"You might have quite literally caught me with my pants down, Valentine." He said playfully and she couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks.

"To business please, children' Barry said with a warm smile "Did you hear more from Leon about the agent who went missing?" He asked and Chris shook his head.

"No luck.' He said and the other three's expressions turned grim "Look guys… Leon keeps saying there is not enough evidence to launch any kind of real operation in Ecuador. But I don't think any of what we have so far is a coincidence. I trust you all more than anyone; if… _When_ we go to Ecuador, I'd rather it was a team we put together ourselves than one the government decides to spare us. Do you think you could make that happen?"

Jill and Barry immediately nodded but Rebecca, who appeared unusually subdued, remained still and silent.

"Rebecca?" Chris prompted gently and her green eyes flicked to his for a moment before she looked straight back down at her lap. Jill frowned.

'Becca,' she said firmly "You have to tell them." Chris glanced at Barry who shrugged and looked at the S.T.A.R.S. medic concernedly.

"Tell us what, Becca?" He asked softly.

"I… Might know of some people who could help with a team." Rebecca finally said. And Jill put a hand on her shoulder.

"She also has a reason she doesn't want to tell you." She said. Chris and Barry immediately clicked.

"Billy Coen." They said simultaneously. Rebecca nodded weakly and Barry, a father of two young women, put an arm around her.

"I know you're afraid of what could happen if it's found out he's still alive, Becca' Chris said "but if he does help us, I'm sure that will be enough to grant him amnesty or at least another trial." Rebecca clasped her hands in her lap.

"They were going to _execute_ him, Chris." She said bitterly "How can I in all good conscience ask him to risk his life for us if it means anything less than his freedom?"

Barry nodded "she's right, it is a big ask."

"I _know _it is.' Chris said tightly "but Christ, this is bigger than him. It's bigger than us. We're talking about a chance to end it all... For good this time."

They were silent for a while, just listening to the sound of café patrons chatter and the staff take people's orders; all of these people who would never truly know how hard the four at the little corner table had fought for them.

"Sometimes it feels like we've been doing this so long it will never be truly over." Jill said quietly, breaking the silence. Chris entwined his fingers in her.

"It will be. I promised Claire and I'm promising you all the same thing now…' He looked his teammates, determination in his deep blue eyes "We _can _end this."

"I'm sorry, Chris…' Rebecca murmured "You're right; I can't just refuse to ask him. But I can't guarantee he'll say yes.' She gave a soft smile "You don't know Billy like I do; he's so stubborn." It was evident from her tone just how fond she was of the man and Chris felt for her.

"Thank you, Rebecca. How did you get back in contact with him?" He asked curiously.

"Billy and I haven't actually spoken since that day.' Rebecca explained "But I know who he's running with; they're vigilantes, but they seem to know what they're doing. They were originally anti-Umbrella and now they just seem to try and wipe out as many black-market bio-weapon dealers as possible and stop their operations. I think every single one of their members lost somebody because of Umbrella… They call themselves CIM and from the reports I read, there is a man in their ranks matching Billy's description including his tattoo." Rebecca unconsciously brushed a hand down her own arm on the spot Billy Coen's tattoo was etched on him.

"That's good news, Rebecca.' Chris said "Sooner or later we're going to need numbers and they could be just what we need…' He rubbed his chin thoughtfully "Remember STRATcom? I know a guy from their ranks, I could hit him up. We need as many people as we can get."

He noticed the other three were looking at him intently and catching the hidden meaning in their gazes, held up a hand to placate them.

"I'm not going to go after him. Not on my own.' He said "I realised how dangerous he has become after Antarctica; he very nearly killed both me and Claire. I promise you, I will never underestimate Albert Wesker; I wouldn't put any of you in jeopardy like that."

Jill's eyes softened "Thank you, Chris.' She said "I know it's hard, but…" Chris nodded.

"Yeah. We'll get through this. We have to."

†

_In Ecuador…_

Ada knocked on the door to Damien's quarters and then pressed the open switch. As the door slid open a hand shot out, locking around her wrist and drawing a yelp of alarm from Ada's throat. She found herself pulled inside and the owner of the hand released her for a second only to then grab her waist and spin her around so that her back was pressed to the wall.

The door slid shut and Ada glared at Damien.

"What the h-" her words were cut off as his hand clamped over her mouth and he leaned in close, speaking into her ear;

"Shut up and listen.' He said softly "I've been able to jam the microphones he's hidden but not the cameras. We can talk, but as far as I know he can read lips, so you've got to do _exactly _as I say. Now kiss me, and like you really mean it."

Ada stared at him but his eyes were too serious for him to be joking. As he took his hand from her mouth she leaned in and pressed her lips hard against his. It wasn't the first time she'd had pretend to enjoy something like this. After a moment they broke away but didn't move their faces far apart. Damien's hands were still at her waist, absently moving over the curves of her hips. Ada brought her arms up around his neck and whispered;

"Why trust me?" It was unclear to her if he had figured out her situation or even how.

"Your being here originally matched up to what was said in the Kennedy report.' He answered "But I've seen you cry, I've seen the hate in your eyes for Wesker. Since I'm stuck here too, I thought I'd take a gamble on trusting you." He tucked a strand of her raven black hair behind her ear, probably just more show for the cameras, but there was a sympathetic gentleness behind it Ada couldn't help but notice.

"So you're CIA? But you mentioned Leon's report on Spain, so I'm guessing it was his outfit that sent you." She said, pulling him in for another kiss. Damien then brushed his lips over her neck and spoke into her ear.

"Bingo. But let's talk about what I need from you.' He said "I need you to get out of here and deliver them the evidence I've put together." Ada's heart sunk.

"I _can't_.' She said brokenly "If I do, he'll kill Leon" but Damien gave the smallest indication of a head shake.

"Not possible. I don't know how he's been playing you sweetheart, but Leon is considered an essential agent; he's probably more protected than the president right now. Wesker has been lying to you, preying on whatever it is you feel for Leon." Ada was momentarily stunned at this new information. Had she really been played this entire time? So all those people, all that blood; had it been for nothing? She felt ill but now she could _leave_.

"If you're certain, I'll get out of here right away" she said as Damien's hands drifted further up her body.

"Wait it out a day or two or he'll click that I'm involved.' He said "I've still gotta be the inside man. And… I've got to protect Tamsin from that bastard." Ada blinked and had to stifle the urge to laugh.

"The _scientist_?" She said in disbelief and Damien's eyes darkened.

"She's a sweet kid. I know I shouldn't feel like…' He trailed off and sighed "Look lady, just do your part, ok? Don't worry about me.' He said and a humorous spark chased away the dark look in his eyes.

"Now, I'm going to do something you won't like. So just react naturally and then run out… Just, try not to hit my face too hard. I'm pretty fond of it."

Ada didn't have time to ask what he meant before she felt him slide something cold down her shirt and then begin to grope her chest with all the grace of a drunken frat boy. Getting over the shock Ada drew her hand back and slapped him. Damien jerked back with a loud curse and she ran out.

As she returned to her room, she cast a glance down at her shirt; nestled neatly in one of the cups of her bra was a flash drive.

She put her hand to her mouth as if covering a yawn and, doing something she had not done in almost a year, smiled.


	5. Drifting away

†

"_Drifting away, caught up on the wrong road…"_

* * *

"God _damn_ it!"

Late in the evening Chris had returned home. He had soon discovered his sister's absence and her message not long after. With a strangled noise of frustration Chris sat down in the middle of the living room floor and re-read Claire's letter.

_Dear Chris,_

_If you've not discovered already, I'm gone. And I'm sorry. Please understand that I have to find out what has happened to Steve._

_I wish you'd told me about being in-touch with Leon but I know you're not telling is just your stupid big brother way of looking out for me. I'm sorry I had to snoop to find out what I needed to know._

_Please don't come after me. I don't know if this is all Wesker's doing but he might be expecting you. He's not expecting me and I promise I'll be careful._

_If Steve is really alive, I have got to get him out of there. I can't stand to think about what they've been doing to him this entire time. And yes, I have thought about this a lot and I know that there is a chance that after what the virus did to him, Steve could still be dangerous himself. Chris, if worst comes to worst, at least I can free him._

_Don't worry, I'll be home soon._

_With all my love,_

_~Claire _

"God damn it…' Chris repeated, softer this time "why do you do these things, Claire?" He knew his little sister was tough and that she could take care of herself, but this? This was way over her head and she should realise it.

Chris dragged himself up off the floor and reached for the phone. He'd intended to call Barry but instead he found himself dialling Jill's number.

"Hello?" She replied after the third ring and Chris paused for a moment before speaking.

"It's Chris. Jill, I… I need some help." He said.

"What's wrong?" Jill's voice was full of worry and Chris clenched his fist around the letter.

"It's Claire. She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean…' Jill trailed off and then drew in a sharp breath "Oh no, are you sure?" Chris nodded though she could not see.

"Positive. She left a note. She found the info Leon has been sending, I think she must have been planning this for weeks. What's more, she told me not to come after her because she's convinced Wesker is expecting me but not her. I don't know how she expects to find the Burnside kid, but that's why she's gone.' Chris paused for a moment and when he spoke again his voice was softer and guilty "I wish I had seen how much he really meant to her."

"Oh, Chris… Don't. Blaming yourself now won't help her.' Jill said consolingly "It isn't your fault; she's so lucky to have you as a brother."

"Yeah.' Chris said, throat tight with emotion "We've got to find her." On the other end of the line, his partner paused before speaking slowly;

"Maybe… Maybe she can do it." She said hesitantly. Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No way, Valentine. This is going to be another goddamn repeat of Paris. But it isn't Umbrella this time, it's Wesker." He heard a rush of static as Jill sighed in frustration.

"Listen to me, _Redfield_; you know she's right. You are the first person Wesker would expect to show up. He knows us and he knows you; the likelihood here is that if we go after her unprepared, we'll not only blow her cover, we'll walk headlong into a trap. She took the lighter with her, right? You said she never goes anywhere without it. Claire will have figured out there's a tracker in it by now."

Chris groaned, knowing Jill was right.

"Ok, Jill. I know Claire is smart and hell, tougher than half the guys I've worked with in my time. But I can't stay in LA just waiting for her. I want to start putting our team together now." He said firmly and Jill knew there would be no budging him from his decision.

"Alright. I'll call Barry and Rebecca; they can hunt down these CIM guys. I've got some old friends who went through the Delta Force training with me, I'll see if they'll help.' She said "Are you going to contact Leon?"

"Yeah,' Chris replied "And Bruce McGivern too, he's STRATcom."

"Right. Give me some time and I'll call you back. Hopefully then I can give you an answer to Coen's status in this." Jill said.

"Talk to you then." Chris was about to put the phone down when Jill started speaking again.

"And Chris? I just want you to know… Everything will be ok." She said softly.

"I know." He whispered and put the phone down.

Gazing around the room, Chris' eyes fell on a picture of him and Claire as children; eight year old Chris smiled down at two year old Claire who was deep asleep, her head resting on his leg.

Reluctantly tearing his eyes from the picture, Chris reached for the phone again.

†

_In Ecuador…_

The golden rays of dawn light glinted off the spires of the _Basílica del Voto Nacional _as the sun rose in the heavens. Claire sat in an outdoor café near the huge Roman Catholic Church and watched the people walk the square. Even at this early hour there were tourists snapping pictures and leafing through guidebooks. Claire allowed herself a small smile at the picturesque scene.

The flight to Quito had taken them through the day and the night; Donovan finally landing them at _Marsical Sucre _airport when the morning had still been dark. With the fake diplomats papers he had secured she had been able to completely bypass security and Claire was grateful, though she had decided not to question Donovan on just how he had managed to obtain the papers.

"Good luck, sister.' He'd said, giving her a quick hug outside the terminal "Whatever you're doing, you just stay safe. I'll be waiting here in three days, same time, just like you asked."

"Thanks Donovan' Claire had said, hugging him back "I promise I'll be careful." Then she had put on her helmet and got on her bike before waving at Donovan one last time and speeding off.

Tired from the trip Claire had wound up sitting in the café for some rest, ordering _bolon de verde_ and a cup of coffee to keep her going.

Sipping on the hot black brew, Claire wondered if she had time to sleep; she still had a long journey ahead of her that would eventually take her deep into the rainforest. To find the area Leon's info pointed to she would have to travel way off the tour routes and that was going to be dangerous; running into a jaguar or poisonous snake could potentially end her faster than whatever she might encounter when she reached her destination.

The weight of the gun and ammo in her pack soothed her a little but not by much. She'd have to be cautious. Fishing a map out of the pack, Claire spread it over the little table, the edges flapping a little in the soft breeze. She put her cup down and studied it closely.

She'd take the _Lago Agrio _highway out from the city and travel to _Papallacta_. There was a dirt road there she could take the bike on until she reached _Napo_ province and then follow the road along the river until reaching _San Rafael _falls. That was where she would need to leave the bike. There was a national park nearby, but she would not be headed in that direction.

_Not such a huge loss_ she tried to joke to herself _there's an active volcano there after all_ but she knew that in reality her route was far more dangerous than any threat the volcano posed.

With her compass and map Claire knew she was unlikely to get lost but she was concerned that she would be out in the jungle when it began to get dark… Then she would be completely screwed. With a quick mental calculation, Claire discovered that if she was to leave now, she would probably make it. Sleep would have to wait.

She finished the remainder of her meal in two quick bites and drained her coffee. Pushing her exhaustion to the back of her mind Claire threw some money down on the table where it was quickly snatched up by the little old waitress who received it with a warm "_muchos gracias._"

Claire nodded in reply and gave a slight smile. As she was walking back to her bike, a cloud passed over the sun for a moment. Claire had never been one to believe in omens, yet somehow the momentary lack of sunlight chilled her right to the bone…

†

_In California…_

The phone began to ring and Chris, who had been pacing next to it for god knows how long, immediately lunged for it and picked it up before it had rung twice.

"Jill? It's been hours, what have you got?"

"Sorry Chris,' she replied. She sounded tired "Rebecca and Barry have dug up a lead that might get them in contact with Coen's crew, but otherwise no luck on that end. In better news, my Delta Force buddies Anthony and Mia are onboard. Mia's boyfriend Gregory can help too if you need him, he's an army medic. I'm sorry, but that's all I have." She sounded badly stressed and Chris felt awful.

"It's ok Jill, thanks. I'll take any good news I can right now. Leon says he can't bring anyone with him unless they volunteer since it isn't an official mission. He's got a tech girl, Ingrid and a chopper pilot named Mike, but that's it. I've got in touch with McGivern too and it's the same deal with his boys. He's coming alone.' He paused thoughtfully for a moment "Look, I'll get Ingrid to contact Becca and Barry, see if she can't help them track down Coen."

"Alright, I'll see if I can help them too." Jill said but Chris wanted her to rest.

"You sound exhausted. Just take a break; I'll call you when this mess is sorted." He offered.

"Thanks Chris, but I'm not lying down on this while everyone else is working. I'll talk to you later." She said and hung up.

Chris stared at the phone. He hoped Jill wasn't angry at him because he had no way to fix it at that moment.

Shaking it off Chris reached for the phone and dialled Leon again.

"Kennedy" Leon replied after the first ring.

"Yeah, it's me again. Can you get Ingrid to get in touch with Rebecca Chambers? We need her help tracking down this guy called Billy Coen." Chris said.

"Got you.' Leon replied "Sit down or something, Chris. You sound awful."

Chris managed a wry smile "No time man." He said and Leon laughed darkly.

"Just don't fall over, superhero; you might not get back up. Kennedy out." The line disconnected and Chris was left in silence. There wasn't really anything he could do save for attempting to help the others find Coen. He actually did sit down on the sofa for a moment, contemplating if he should drive over to Rebecca and Jill's apartment, and closed his eyes for a moment…

†

_In Ecuador…_

"Well.' Said Claire dispassionately "I guess they call it the rainforest for a reason."

After a gruelling day of travel across muddy roads and narrow winding paths, Claire had finally been forced to abandon her bike near _San Rafael _falls. She had hidden it in the shade of some trees that grew closely together, checked her map and compass then started her navigation into the forest.

After about an hour of trekking through the underbrush, the rain had started and despite Claire's leather jacket and waterproof race pants, the dense and misty rain had began to collect on strands of her hair, eventually growing into fat, heavy droplets that then fell and rolled down her neck inside her jacket, leaving her not thoroughly soaked but very cold and uncomfortable.

Claire shook her head, her ponytail whipping around and sending out a spray of water. Continuing on, she was acutely aware she did not have a lot of time before sundown. Night came rapidly within the rainforest so she knew it would be wise to pick up the pace.

Passing exotic orchids and other plants, Claire soon noticed that the forest around her was thinning out a little. Looking closer, she realised that it appeared many of the trees and plants had only recently begun to grow back. Examining the forest floor revealed an unnatural amount of broken branches… And a partial tire tread. Claire felt as if her heart skipped a beat at the discovery.

_I must be on the right track_ she thought _if I follow these signs; it could lead me right to where I need to go…_

Starting to move quickly, Claire broke into a half run, dodging over and around the broken branches. The tire prints were few, but she could tell they were made by something large; Leon's report had said construction had gone on in the jungle after all. Claire kept up her pace, venturing deeper into the forest and only stopped when she was totally out of breath.

Leaning against a tree for a moment, Claire took a bottle of water from her pack and uncapped it. She sipped it as she listened; expecting to hear the songs of the forest's many birds.

Yet she heard nothing.

"Where are they…?" She said aloud; her anxious voice cutting into the silence like a knife. She listened again and still there was nothing. Claire immediately began to feel uneasy; such an eerie silence in such a large forest was unnerving…

_Crack!_

A twig had snapped somewhere behind her and Claire instinctively pulled her gun from its holster, pressing her back hard against the tree. The sound hadn't come from that far away. Very carefully, Claire leaned around the tree and scanned the area quickly.

_Please don't be anything big_ she found herself praying.

She didn't see anything but trees and plants. Claire kept her eyes on the area for a long time and saw nothing. Perhaps whatever it was had moved on its way… As Claire was about to turn around and start putting some distance between her and the area, her eyes suddenly locked on something;

In the distance, between two trees… Something was moving.

Claire quickly moved so that she was once more flattened against the tree. It had been a knee-jerk reaction and she soon realised that taking her eyes off it had been a stupid move. Slowly, she once more inched her way around the tree, looking for the movement again. Whatever it had been, she could not see it anymore. She began to back away slowly, continuously scanning with her eyes when all of a sudden she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as if someone had walked over her grave…

As if she was being watched.

Claire whirled around but all she saw was a flash of yellow eyes and claws before she was blinded by pain and slammed so hard against a tree that she heard her ribs break with a sickening _crack_.

Sliding down the tree, Claire's hands immediately went to her front. Her jacket had been torn open and blood stained the bright white leather. In shock, her trembling hands felt the edges of the deep vertical slashes that ran her entire front. Eyes wide with terror she looked up, vision swaying wildly, to see a grotesque scaled creature standing over her. Claire would have screamed, but the air had been knocked right out of her when she'd hit the tree and there was what was surely a broken rib pressing dangerously into a lung. The beast before her raised an enormous reptilian hand, talons like knives shining with her blood in the fading light…

Claire closed her eyes.

"That is _enough_."

That cold voice… Claire couldn't see where it had come from and she opened her eyes to see the creature reluctantly lower its hand and walk away to the side with a low 'hiss.' The space behind it now revealed, Claire's blurring vision made out a tall, dark shape approaching.

"My, my… I'm surprised that you of all people would make my life easier. There I was, checking the surveillance monitors and who should show up on one but the lovely Claire Redfield? I simply had to take it upon myself to come and greet you."

_Oh god_ she knew that cruel, mocking voice. A prickling rush of terror swept over Claire and she looked up as Albert Wesker stepped into focus, a cold smirk upon his face.

"N-no…" She gasped and then gagged on blood.

"How fortunate you are here. It saves me having to come to you now, doesn't it?" Wesker mused, casually approaching her dying form.

"Get… Away…" Claire choked wetly and her hand scrabbled for her gun. Her fingers closed over something hard that was not the gun but her lighter, fallen from her pocket. She remembered the tracker and did the only thing she could do then, pressing down on the button to activate it.

Wesker didn't seem to notice what she had done, reaching down so that his hand encircled her throat and pulling her up as easily as if she were a torn rag doll. Claire dropped the lighter as she felt herself slammed once more against the tree and the pain tore a small cry from her throat.

"While I would dearly like to finish what my Hunter started…' Wesker hissed "I need you alive. Try not to die in the next few moments, Claire."

_Alive_…_?_ The sick, drunken feeling of blood loss muddled her thoughts, but Claire still felt her heart sink as she realised that she had walked right into a trap.

"Bastard… G-go to _hell_." She spat and blood flecked Wesker's face and glasses. She only saw his smirk widen as the darkness finally closed in on her.

"Hell? You're already in it, my dear…"

†

_In California…_

Chris blinked awake; it took him a second to realise he had fallen asleep in the lounge and he winced.

"… Fuck." He felt incredibly guilty, knowing that everybody else had been working so hard to help him and he'd gone and passed out on them. It was evident by the lack of light coming through the window that it was dusk and Chris cursed himself; had he really been asleep that long?

A sudden beeping sound came from his pocket and Chris instinctively pulled out his cell phone, only to realise that it was not the origin of the noise. Blood running cold, the S.T.A.R.S. captain slowly reached into his pocket again and took out the receptor to the transmitter built into Claire's lighter. She was in danger.

"Claire…" Chris' voice was strangled. What if she was hurt? What if he was too late? The elder Redfield punched the couch and swore; he had to force all those terrible possibilities to the back of his mind and try to save his little sister.

_I'm coming for you, Claire. Hold on_ he thought as he dialled Jill again.

"Chris?' she sounded stressed but alert "is everything ok? You haven't contacted us in hours."

"Jill, please tell me you have some news about Coen." He said.

"Yeah.' She replied "Ingrid found CIM, Chris. You'll never believe this but some of them are near the coast! And they're going to help us. Rebecca is still talking with them, but they say they can be here in six hours."

"Any chance they can make it four?" Chris asked and Jill was silent for a moment.

"Has something happened, Chris?' She asked softly and he couldn't speak. Jill seemed to understand what his silence meant.

"Oh god, Chris. Don't think it, baby.' She said "Claire is going to be ok. She used the transmitter, didn't she?" Chris blinked, for a second dwelling on the fact that she'd called him 'baby' before he spoke again.

"Yeah…" He replied.

"Then she's alive. And she'll be waiting for you.' Jill said. "Chris, I _promise_ you. I promise we'll get her out." And somehow, he didn't know if it was the determination in her voice, but he believed her.

"Thanks Jill.' He said softly and then much more firmly "Where will we meet them?"

"On the docks.' She replied "I'll tell them to get their asses into gear and make it here in no more than five hours. Put your coat on, Redfield." Chris blinked again.

"What?"

"Your coat. On. We're going to drive out there now and make sure it's safe for them; we can't have them getting arrested for docking illegally." Jill said and Chris managed a smile.

"Good thinking, Valentine. I assume I'm picking you up?" He heard her laugh and a small rush of static.

"Damn straight. I'll see you in fifteen."

†

_In Ecuador…_

Claire awoke feeling as if her head had been split in two. She became aware she was lying on a rather uncomfortable bed and that she was unable to move her arms.

"What the…?' She strained to look down and realised her wrists were held in leather restraints "guess that explains it, then." She growled. A glance around told her she was in a holding cell and recalling what had happened, Claire groaned as the sickening feeling of failure washed over her. If she lost Chris because of this, she would never forgive herself… If she even lived that long.

Thinking about her encounter with the Hunter, Claire strained her head to look down at her body. She'd been stripped down to her underclothes, obviously for medical treatment because her trunk and abdomen were covered entirely in bandages. Her head still hurt but she felt no pain from her injuries. Claire figured that even though she didn't feel like it she must have been on some pretty heavy anaesthetic. Frustrated with her predicament, Claire started tugging on her restraints in earnest.

She only stopped the fruitless exercise when somebody entered the cell. Twisting to look at them, Claire found a good-looking man with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes staring back at her.

"Who are you?" She asked. He didn't look as if he belonged there.

"Damien Saunders.' He answered "And we don't have much time." To Claire's complete surprise, he leaned over and quickly tugged her restraints loose. "Come on, Wesker wasn't watching the cameras when I slipped passed him, but that could have changed by now." He put out a hand to help her up and Claire stared at him.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, hesitantly accepting the hand he offered.

"I'm CIA. ' He replied, helping her to her feet "Look, here is your gun back. Follow the exit signs to the elevator. Just _run_, ok? Don't ever slow down. I've got to go back for someone." Damien pressed her gun into her hand. Claire nodded and smiled.

"Thank you. I'm Claire, by the way."

"I know.' Damien replied "Pleased to meet…" He trailed off, the smile on his face falling.

"Damien? What's wrong?' Claire asked and then gasped as a red stain blossomed upon his lab coat "Damien!"

He pitched forward and Claire automatically caught him, his weight bearing her to the ground. Her head snapped up to see a winged humanoid; its skin was an emerald green marked with dark scales and its eyes glowed even in the darkness of the cell.

There was something familiar about those eyes…

Claire felt as if her heart had ceased to beat as she realised that she had once looked into those eyes as the life ebbed away from them and that there had been a time when they had looked back at her with all the love in world. She couldn't help the tears that began to trail down her cheeks.

"Oh Jesus… Steve?"

He just continued to stare down at her and Claire bit back a sob.

"Please, Steve… You've got to remember, we escaped that island together!' She clambered unsteadily to her feet "It's me, Claire!"

All of a sudden she became aware of the warm wetness of blood soaking her skin… _Damien._

What kind of _thing_ had they turned Steve into that he could ever do this? Claire looked from Damien's corpse back to Steve and her eyes filled with fear that was not mirrored in his; Steve's eyes held no emotion at all. She noticed the spike, almost like an overgrown thorn, that protruded from his arm then. It dripped with Damien's blood.

"Please…" She whispered, backing away from him "Please remember me." He followed her as she moved and she saw a flash of recognition in his eyes.

"Claire." His voice held a soft animalistic growl, sounding so very different from how she remembered it. The bloodied spike retracted silently into his arm as he continued to stalk towards her. Her back touched the wall and she tried in vain to smile, failing miserably.

"Yes, that's right! Do you remember now?" She asked as he drew nearer, stopping in front of her far too close for comfort. His jade green eyes flashed with an unrecognisable emotion and Claire yelped as his hands slammed into the wall at either side of her head.

Her eyes flickered wildly over his body; closer, even with the hue of his skin with its dark scales and the enormous wings with their chartreuse feathers, he still looked oddly like his old self. Claire noticed he looked significantly more muscular. Whatever they'd done had made him stronger. She tried not to flinch as he bowed his head close to her and inhaled.

_Is… Is he __**sniffing**__ me?_ Claire moved as if to escape and he growled softly in the back of his throat. She froze and he continued to sniff along her neck. His mossy coloured hair brushed against her cheek and she blushed, realising his body was now pressing her against the wall. Heat rose on her face as one of his legs nestled between hers.

"Steve… Don't.' She whispered "We've got to get out of here…" he ignored her and she couldn't help the soft cry that tore from her throat when his tongue licked a hot wet trail up her neck before his teeth began to worry the soft flesh. Claire desperately looked around for some kind of escape and her eyes landed on Damien lying dead in a pool of his blood.

"_Stop it!_" She screamed and pushed Steve as hard as she could. Not expecting her assault, he stumbled backwards and Claire ran, clutching her gun tight. She had to put some distance between her and Steve… What had been Steve.

As she ran, Claire felt something tear and knew she'd pulled what were surely stitches in her wound, but felt no pain. She prayed whatever sedative she was on held up long enough for her to get out of there. She spotted one of the exit signs Damien had spoke of and raced to it, turning the corner only to have two guards loom up, ready to put a stop to her escape.

"_Get out of my way!_" She screamed and slammed her knee as hard as she could into the left one's groin. He went down howling and the other one tried to grab her. Claire dodged and then attacked, flipping her gun around to hold it by the barrel and then smashing the base into the guard's temple. He fell back silently but Claire was already running before he hit the floor.

She kept following the exit signs but it was as if there was no end to them. Claire was frightened and tired, and with the pain from her injuries slowly becoming more and more apparent, she feared she was out of time.

Suddenly a woman in red appeared before her and Claire blinked in surprise. She'd not seen or heard her approach until she was standing but a few feet in front of her.

"I know who you are.' The woman said only just loud enough for Claire to hear it "Wesker knows that you're trying to escape and has sealed off the doors, you'll need this pass." Claire only just caught the key card the woman threw at her. She opened her mouth to say something but was met with a stern glare.

"No questions. Just go."

Claire only hesitated for a second more before she began to run again.

Ada watched her go and felt a stab of guilt. She had given Claire the only chance she had to escape, but she knew it would be a miracle if the Redfield girl managed to get away. It was a sure bet that Wesker would be after Claire, so Ada would be able to use the distraction to escape.

"I'm sorry, I do really hope you make it" she said softly as she began running towards another exit, one that would take her to an underground tunnel ending beneath the city of Quito…

Claire ran on as a loud screeching suddenly started and she swore from between gritted teeth.

_Alarms_.

She turned another corner and skidded to an almost comical halt. There was an unwelcomely familiar figure blocking her way.

"I really wouldn't advise that, Claire' Said Wesker coolly "With your injuries, escape will only do you more harm than good." Claire ignored this and pointed her gun at his head.

"What the _fuck_ did you do to Steve?" She hissed venomously and a corner of Wesker's mouth twitched in displeasure.

"You'd think that brother of yours would have taught you some manners.' He said as he began to walk towards her, his pace unhurried, as if she wasn't pointing a gun at him. Claire fired off three shots in rapid succession but he effortlessly dodged all of them, suddenly sprinting forward and knocking her to the ground "Perhaps I shall teach you a little about etiquette."

Claire's eyes flashed angrily "Go to hell and die Wesker." She raised the gun again but he casually kicked her wrist and it flew from her grasp.

"Been there and done that, Miss Redfield.' He said and reached down to pull her up by her hair "Now are you going to stop this nonsense?"

"Bite me." She spat. And Wesker laughed darkly.

"Well.' He said "If you are so desperate, I do have someone here whose pleasure it would be to oblige you." And he threw her backwards.

Claire braced herself to hit the floor again but found herself caught by a pair of strong arms instead. She looked around and found herself gazing fearfully into Steve's eyes as he pulled her back tight against his chest.

"No…" She whispered as he lowered his mouth to her neck. Her soft flesh gave way beneath the razor-like points of his teeth and she couldn't even scream the pain was so intense. Her muscles and joints seemed to lock up, preventing struggle. Claire began to panic; she could feel his teeth inside her flesh, and the sensation made her dizzy and sick. Steve was growling now deep in the back of his throat, Claire could feel it vibrate against her and thought he sounded _pleased_. That scared her more than the biting did, was there any of Steve left in there? She almost hoped not; he could never willingly do this to her.

The pain seemed to flare up for a moment and Claire found her voice, crying out from the sensation. But then… It slowly began to melt away, hurting less and less until the last dregs of pain drained away and Claire was left with a kind of languid euphoria. Was there venom in Steve's mouth? Could it be that the same poison that had paralyzed her before was making her feel this way now? Claire found she could move a little, but then Steve licked the wound he'd made and then bit down again on her shoulder, making her gasp softly. Claire felt the desire to struggle desert her as Steve turned her in his arms, his teeth sliding into the other side of her neck and then scrapping downwards before sinking into the soft swell of her left breast. He continued to bite her and she tried not to, but could not help but moaned each time his teeth sunk into her flesh. Soon tiny rivulets of blood ran from countless pairs of twin puncture marks, gathering together like streams forming rivers and running steadily down her body. Claire knew what was happening, but she couldn't stop it. It was no longer painful at all, it felt good. Slowly, she found herself growing weaker and soon unconsciousness was taking her in its hold.

"Steve…" She breathed as she gave up and let the darkness take her.


	6. Considerately killing me

†

"_I still feel you touching me, changing me and considerately killing me__…"_

* * *

_In California…_

Rebecca heard somebody walk up behind her but before she could turn around a pair of strong arms slid over her shoulders and a rough voice whispered softly in her ear;

"Rebecca… Officer Chambers."

Closing her eyes against the happy tears welling up in them, Rebecca inhaled the masculine scent emanating from the man behind her; gun smoke, aftershave and earth.

"So… You seem to know me.' She said and slowly turned around, looking up into his dark eyes "Been fantasizing about me, have you?" Billy Coen cupped her face in warm hands and grinned.

"Every day and goddamn night, dollface."

Despite the chill of the air, his smile and words warmed Rebecca to the core. Billy's eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly threw her arms around his neck but soon he was pulling her close, his own arms wrapping around her waist.

"God, I missed you so much." Rebecca said into his chest and Billy laughed.

"I can tell, honey. I can tell…"

The midnight harbour created a backdrop as they embraced, the lights of the city reflected in the canvas of the darkened sea.

CIM, Civilian Intelligence and Military, were a small group; consisting of just Billy and five other members. It was clear in their eyes that they were haunted by the ghost of Umbrella but although they appeared sombre, they were a determined group and had more than once proved a thorn in the side of those attempting acts of bioterrorism.

The four S.T.A.R.S members had awaited them at the docks, Jill and Chris arriving early to ensure the area was clear of civilians. CIM had eventually arrived some time before midnight, their small boat having made it passed the coastguard.

Chris watched as Rebecca and Billy parted from their embrace and then went to introduce himself.

"Lt. Coen, I'm Chris Redfield, captain of the S.T.A.R.S. You're doing me one hell of a favour being here." He said and put his hand out. Billy hesitated for a second but then seemed to relax and shook Chris' hand.

"I'm not really a lieutenant anymore' He said with a wry smile "but all of us are happy to lend our assistance." Chris nodded.

"I swear on my badge that I'll do everything I can to help you clear your name.' He said and turned to Rebecca "Can you and Barry help CIM move any equipment they have into the vans? I've got to do something."

"Sure.' Rebecca immediately replied and then paused "What are you doing?"

Chris pointed to an approaching chopper heading for a helipad west of their position.

"Kennedy and McGivern will be expecting a welcome.' He said "We should be ready to roll out in fifteen." Chris laid a hand on Rebecca's shoulder and nodded politely at Billy before making his way to the helipad.

The chopper's rotor blades stirred the briny sea air, the noise of the craft touching down disturbing the quiet night. Chris waited patiently as Bruce McGivern disembarked the craft. Spotting the S.T.A.R.S. captain, a grin broke out on the Southern man's face and he approached him.

"Chris motherfuckin' Redfield!' He yelled over the noise of the chopper "How the hell are ya?" Chris grimaced and he laughed.

"Sorry! Shouldn't have asked." Bruce said as Chris shook his hand.

"How about you?' He asked "I never got the full report on the Spencer Rain incident." Bruce's grin just widened.

"Well, what can I say? I think I enjoy savin' the world." He said.

"Yeah, well if you can save the world, then you won't mind helping me with this equipment, McGivern" Leon S. Kennedy had appeared from the chopper, dragging a heavy looking crate down a ramp.

"Leon, good to see you." Chris said, nodding in the blonde man's direction.

"Just glad to have made it. It's great to be out in the open, the whole protected agent thing really blows.' Leon replied, finally setting the crate down and wiping sweat off his brow "It's like they're perfectly happy for me to be out there endangering my life just so long as it's on their terms." Bruce slapped him on the back.

"Which is why they must be so _pissed_ that you slipped away to be here.' He jibed and Leon shoved him so he fell onto the crate laughing "Ouch, Mr. Grumpy."

"Stop fooling around _don gua_" a woman's accented voice echoed from the chopper and Chris looked up to see a pretty Asian woman scowling at McGivern.

"Is this your girlfriend?" Chris asked doubtfully and then cringed as the woman turned her glare upon him. It was like she was trying to fry him with her eyes.

"I am _not_ his girlfriend" she snapped and Bruce stared at the ground as Leon tried not to laugh.

"Chris, meet Fong Ling. Fong Ling, meet Chris…" the STRATcom agent said weakly.

"Pleased to meet you." Fong Ling said icily. She was a slight woman, but Chris could tell she was a hell of a lot tougher than she looked.

"Likewise… Uh, I didn't mean to offend you; I didn't know you were _the_ Fong Ling. Heard you managed and epic save of this reckless bastard first time you met." Chris said, pointing to Bruce and hoping to placate her. It worked, her frown softening at his words though Bruce shot him an absolutely scandalized look.

"Thank you. I am actually here because I owe the _don gua_ a favour." She said.

"Fong! I know what that means!" Bruce protested. She just stared at him.

"I know."

"You weren't callin' me it that time on the life raft, if I recall!"

"We had just managed not to get killed by a rampaging blob, _don gua_! I was… Giddy!"

"Giddy? Excuse me, you were totally into it!"

"_Wo hen ni__!"_

_"Yeah, well, I hate you more!"_

Chris rolled his eyes; it was going to be a long night.

†

_In Ecuador…_

"Damien? Damien! Oh, please wake up!"

Tammy's bloodstained hand slipped away from Damien's as she realised that there was nothing she could do. Shock chased away any tears from her eyes as she stared down at the corpse of her best friend. She felt numb and completely paralyzed; the sight before her unreal.

_What happened? What in the world happened?_

She couldn't stand to look into his open eyes anymore; the warm kindness that had always been there was gone. Her hand reached out as if on its own accord and brushed over his eyelids, closing them.

Tammy knew she had to do something, she had to tell somebody. As she staggered to her feet she felt Damien's cold blood begin to trickle from where it stained her knees and gagged, suddenly overcome by nausea.

_Oh god!_

Her stomach heaved again and thick, acidic bile threatened to crawl up her throat. Hot tears springing to her eyes, Tammy choked it back down feeling cold sweat break out on her neck. With her hand clamped tightly over her mouth, Tammy stumbled away from Damien's body and to the cell door. She screamed when she bumped into somebody and they grabbed her by the arms.

"Let go of me!" She cried, trying to jerk away.

"Miss Allen' The person said coldly "Stop that immediately."

Tammy froze and looked up to see Wesker

"Please sir, somebody killed Damien! We have to do something!" She cried and Wesker's hold on her arms tightened.

"This causes me great annoyance.' He said softly "You were not supposed to see this." Wesker's words made Tammy feel as if he had reached inside her very chest and began to squeeze her heart.

"What do you mean?' She asked, trying to shake his hands off her arms "Sir? Please let go, y-you're hurting me…" Wesker sighed and all of a sudden he had pulled her around and slammed her back against the cell wall. Tammy's scream was cut off as the collision knocked the air out of her lungs.

"Listen to me carefully, Tamsin Carolyn Allen;' Wesker growled "you are not to ask questions. You are to do as you are told. Obey, and perhaps you will live. All you need to know is that Saunders extermination was due to his ineptitude at hiding his true identity. He assumed I would not notice a CIA agent skulking about behind my back and has now paid dearly for that mistake." Tammy stared stunned into his eyes; terrified at Wesker's abrupt change in demeanour and at the impact of his words. If not for his rough handling, Tammy might have been able to convince herself this was all some kind of sick joke; that Damien would get off the floor and laugh at her any second, but the pain revealed what the reality was.

"Why?' She croaked, throat suddenly dry "Why are you doing this?"

"You're asking questions.' Wesker stated brusquely "I told you not to."

"Just _answer_ me!' Tammy suddenly found herself yelling "why is Damien dead? What do you mean he is a CIA agent? Why would the CIA… ' She trailed off, her brain quickly processing the facts before her and in one short moment Tammy Allen knew the truth;

_The virus… Steve… This entire thing has been a lie._

"You…' She breathed "All this time… You're not using T-Angelus to help people; you're making a bio weapon."

Wesker, who had seemed somewhat taken aback by her outburst, smiled almost fondly "very good, my dear; it's only taken you a year to figure it out.' He said "Don't let this little revelation get in the way of your good work; I will be needing your assistance with a few more things yet. Now let's go." He said and turned his back on her, starting to walk away. Tammy remained where she was, trying to remember how to breathe.

_No… __**No**__._

"Go to hell." She said quietly and Wesker paused then, very slowly turning his head to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe I caught that." He said in a dangerously soft voice.

"You heard me.' Tammy hissed "Go to hell; I would sooner be _dead_ than help you." The young woman had never felt such rage; it was as if she had surrendered control of her voice to the feeling. Wesker looked mildly perplexed.

"My, my…' he said quietly "I find myself being told to go to hell for the second time today, yet I can't quite believe that it is coming from such a _little _girl." Wesker began to take very slow, deliberate steps towards Tammy and she edged along the wall, automatically trying to keep the space between them.

"You can't make me help you.' She continued to say "I'll get out and tell people what you are doing down here." Wesker just smirked.

"Even if you did manage to escape, what makes you think anybody would believe a naïve child such as yourself?' He said "It is in your best interests to simply do as I say."

"Bastard!' Tammy suddenly spat at him "There is nothing you can do to make me help you; you've already taken away my only friend! You'll either have to kill me or let me go." Her green eyes stared into his golden-red ones, alive with a fierce courage Wesker had not known she possessed.

It was quite admirable, he thought, though Tammy did not seem to have a true understanding of whom she was dealing with. Wesker had assumed she would simply do as she was told, fearing for her own life, but there she was trying to stare him down; practically daring him to snap her neck. He sighed, frustrated. It appeared that this girl, not even yet a woman, was going to make him resort to rather harsh measures if he were to keep on schedule.

"I'm afraid you are incorrect there, Tammy.' He said as he backed her into a corner of the small cell "Though two of my choices are as you say; to either let you go or kill you, there is a third option that you neglected to mention, so I assume you simply failed to notice it."

Alarm bells rang in her head, but Tammy ignored them and glared back at Wesker.

"And what is it?" She demanded and the coldest look she had ever seen appeared on Wesker's face.

"I hurt you until you are so broken you cannot do anything but obey…" He said. Tammy suddenly began to look unsure, but she raised her chin to look up at him defiantly.

"You can hit me as many times as you like;' she said "I am not helping you to hurt people anymore."

But as soon as she had said it, Wesker was leaning over her so that his next words were spoken softly right into her ear and they were enough to cause all the colour to drain from her face;

"I never said that I was going to _hit_ you."

Wesker's hand shot out and clenched around her wrist like a vice and Tammy screamed as he brutally pulled her towards him, grabbed her shoulders, spun her around and slammed her viciously face-first into the wall. Her forehead struck the concrete hard and she saw black spots dance before her vision. Momentarily dazed, she couldn't feel anything but as the pain started to recede Tammy soon became aware that Wesker had her pinned bodily to that spot, one hand still gripping her shoulder and the other… The other was at her thigh pushing up her dull-brown skirt.

"No…' Her voice came out in a strangled whisper and she turned her head as much as she could to look at him "Please…"

His eyes flickered to hers and seeing the expression in them, Tammy froze. What he was going to do… It was something she had mistakenly only ever imagined committed by frenzied panting men whose eyes spoke of violent lust or the desire for power though the domination of those physically weaker than themselves, but Wesker's eyes were calm. That look of emotional detachment mixed with that complete and utter focus told Tammy that this was simply a _method_ to him; a method to get one step closer to what he wanted and because of that, Tammy knew there was nothing she could do to make him stop.

"No…' She repeated and then louder "_No!_"

"You can still stop this.' Wesker said "Simply agree to do as I say and this will not happen." His voice was soft, persuasive, all the while his hand continued to hike up the fabric of her skirt. Tammy felt his fingers brush against bare skin and squeezed her eyes closed.

How she wanted to give in. How she wanted to say she would do anything he asked and have him take his hands off her. But she couldn't. Maybe she could live with herself if he did this... But never if she aided him in his deeds. Tammy had long ago made a promise that she would use her gift to help people, never hurt them and this; it was going to be the ultimate, cruellest test of that promise.

But he could not be allowed to just win.

She took a shaky breath, opening her eyes and staring back at him defiantly through the tears now spilling down her face.

"I see…' Wesker murmured "You brought this upon yourself, Tammy Allen."

It was the worst thing he could have said; as if he were blameless in this and it was all her fault.

She tried not to make a sound as he finished pushing her skirt up around her waist and she desperately tried to keep her knees locked together as he began to pry them apart. His thigh was pushed hard between hers and she felt his fingers catch the elastic of her underwear, pulling them aside. She took a deep breath but it was as if there was no oxygen in the air. Tammy braced herself…

And cried out. She found that it didn't even _hurt_ that much when he finally pushed inside of her but that just made it so much more terrible; physical pain was tangible but she couldn't even begin to describe the mental anguish this violation caused her; all she could feel was heat and rage and humiliation. Tammy clenched her hands tightly into fists, the nails digging into her palms as he pulled out, thrust, and pulled out again, repeating the motions over and over. Her eyes were sealed tightly and her teeth behind her closed mouth were gritted together so hard she was sure they would fuse together.

_Why…?_

Tammy wondered how the hell she could ever have been so wrong about a person. She hated the way his breath stirred her hair and drifted over the shell of her ear; he was too damn quiet and she could feel his heartbeat against her back; finding neither that nor his breathing to be all that elevated. It wasn't _right_, how could he be so calm about this?

What seemed an eternity later Wesker had finally finished with her. He said nothing, just let her slide limply to the floor and began to straighten his clothes. He looked at her once before he left her there on the cold ground, his expression impassive.

"Go clean yourself up." He said quietly.

Tammy waited until she heard his footsteps fade away down the corridor and hurriedly pulled her skirt down from her waist, as if having it bunched up there was burning her. She wanted to get up but her legs were ignoring the signals from her brain. She could only lay there feeling weak and sick, her heart pounding in her head. She couldn't handle the reality anymore; she felt her brain prepare to shut down for a while.

As Tammy willingly let unconsciousness take hold of her abused and spent form, she wondered if there would be another time when she would feel warm again. She wondered if she would ever be able to look at her reflection in a mirror and tell herself that she was alright or if she would only ever be able to remember this moment when he, someone more monster than man, had taken everything away from her…


	7. Broken by my master

†

"_Know me broken by my master, teach thee on child of love hereafter…"_

* * *

Chris sat down heavily on his front porch and starting lighting a cigarette, his hand cupped around the flame of the lighter to protect it from the early morning breeze. Once the tip was smouldering a glowing orange, Chris took a deep drag of bitter-sweet smoke into his lungs and stared out into the garden.

"I really wish you'd quit, y'know."

His exasperated sigh causing a cloud of smoke to issue from his mouth, Chris patted the space next to him on the stairs "Gimme a break here, Valentine… And come sit down for a minute."

Jill settled beside him, her skin drenched in the light of the blue hour. It may have been her signature colour but it wasn't hard to imagine she was cold sitting painted in that cool light of dawn. Chris squashed the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her to his chest.

Sometimes he wondered why he and Jill were still everything but lovers. There was so little they didn't share, they were both unflinchingly loyal and always seemed to know if something was wrong with their partner, which probably explained why Jill was out there with him instead of asleep in Claire's bed.

Chris knew his partner was as attracted to him as he was to her; it was clear in the way they would flirt and how their eyes would meet… But they'd always look away, never go any further and Chris never knew why. They'd not had time for other relationships since Raccoon City, it all seemed to add up but still they had not become more than partners. He sighed again and tried to push the frustrating thought from his mind, thinking instead about earlier that night;

They had left the docks and driven back to the Redfield's house at about two in the morning. Jill's Delta Force friends had arrived soon after and it had taken about an hour to get everyone settled for the remainder of the night. It hadn't been easy trying to fit that many people into one house but they had eventually managed to arrange sleeping space for everyone. Barry had returned to his own home and family for the night, promising to be back in the morning. Though Jill and Rebecca shared a small apartment nearby, Jill wasn't about to leave Chris' side and Rebecca had fallen asleep on the sofa along with Billy. The thought made him smile a little.

"So Becca and sleeping beauty were looking pretty cosy last time I checked" he commented as he threw his cigarette into the garden, the orange light winking out as it met the dewy grass.

"It's been years since they've seen each other, but it's like they've been together forever" Jill remarked, her smile mirroring his and Chris nodded.

"People can get pretty tight when they go through things together, huh? Bonded by trauma, I guess."

"Yeah… Trauma." Jill said, suddenly sounding distant and Chris winced a little.

"I'm sorry, Jill." He said softly and she blinked.

"For what?" She asked and he looked away before whispering;

"Everything."

Jill's hand cupped his cheek and turned his face back to hers "I don't understand, Chris." She said softly. Chris' hand moved to hers and held it to his face.

"I don't think I ever apologised for leaving you in Raccoon.' He said "I should have stayed with you. There hasn't been a single night that I haven't had a nightmare about you not getting out of there. If anything ever happens to you, I don't think I could- mmph!" Jill had reached forward and pinched his lips together.

"Redfield, would you shut up for a second?' She said gently "It was my choice to stay in Raccoon City; you had to leave and we both know it. Chris, don't you ever regret any of your decisions; everything you've ever done for us, for everyone… It's been amazing."

He stared back at her and she released his lips, a faint pink tinge visible on her cheeks. Chris was still for a moment, hesitating, but was eventually able to say _screw it_ and pulled her against him. Jill stiffened in surprise for a second but then relaxed, her head resting against his chest.

Chris braved a kiss to the top of her head murmuring "we're always going to be together Jill. Not just in this. Someday… We're going to be something more."

"That's… Nice." She said dreamily, Chris' warmth and steady heartbeat lulling her to sleep as the day finally caught up with her.

They stayed that way, still and silent, feeling each other's warmth. Eventually the clouds began to turn pink with the rising sun and Chris glanced down at Jill before he cleared his throat softly.

"I love you." He whispered.

The only answer was her quiet, steady breathing…

†

_In Ecuador…_

Tammy scrubbed her skin raw beneath the boiling hot shower spray. Her inner thighs were especially red from her frantic washing, but feeling the sting of soap on the sensitive skin was so much better than feeling the dull, throbbing ache he had left behind.

She had already used up her entire bottle of vanilla body wash, the scent that was usually so pleasant hung heavily in the steam-choked air, sickening and cloyingly sweet but she still remained beneath the water until it turned icy cold. Only then did she shut it off and stood still and shivering listening to the empty sound of dripping water.

_Plink… Plink… Plink…_

Mechanically, she opened the shower door and stepped out, forgoing a towel to stand naked in front of the mirror; though her cheeks were tinged pink from the shower, the rest of her face was ashen, her lips were bloodless and her eyes were hollow. She looked like a total mess.

Her hair, dark red from the shower, dripped cold droplets down her neck and she hugged her cold, wet arms to her body.

"I wish you were here, Damien…" She whispered and then froze as she caught sight of _his_ reflection in the mirror.

"I'm afraid wishing will not do you much good now, Tammy." Wesker's voice was even and she despised how he was so calm after what he had done. She didn't meet his eyes, just reached an arm out slowly for a towel, willing her hand not to shake.

"What do you want?" She asked hollowly.

"I need you to run some tests on a new arrival. And you're also late with Mr. Burnside's daily shot." He replied. Tammy's hand gripped her towel hard as she turned to face him.

"Just what have I really been injecting him with, _sir_?' She asked bitterly "I can't quite believe you care about his health enough for it to just be a vitamin shot."

Within a second Wesker had moved from the door to where she stood and shoved her against the mirror. His face was uncomfortably close to hers as he spoke and Tammy hoped he couldn't hear how fast her heart was beating.

"Tammy, don't try to fight this.' Wesker said softly, almost gently "It truly would be best for you to keep that beautiful mouth of yours shut and just do as I _say_." Tammy winced as she felt him stroke his fingers down the length of her bare thigh, the message behind the action clear; _do as I say or you know what will happen…_

She looked away from him. For now she would do what she was told, she couldn't take more of _that_. Not today. It was too soon for it to happen again, she needed more rest first. Her thoughts strayed to Wesker's 'new arrival.' She guessed it was another test subject for T-Angelus. Perhaps if nothing else she could try and help them, perhaps gain an ally.

Wesker stepped back from her all of a sudden and threw her the towel she had dropped. By some miracle, she managed to catch it before it again fell to the floor… Just like she wanted to do right then.

"Hurry up and get dressed.' He said "I want you in the main lab in five minutes or there will be consequences."

"_Alright._' Tammy snapped "Would you leave me alone so I can fucking do it?" Wesker laughed darkly.

"My dear, you truly surprise me." He said.

"And you disgust me" she spat back at him. Wesker shrugged as he walked through the door.

"Say what you will.' He called "It won't change anything."

The door shut behind him and he was gone. Tammy stared after him, rage curling in her gut.

"Fuck you… Fuck you… _Fuck you!_" She screamed the last part and hit the palm of her hand against the mirror. A crack appeared, fracturing her reflection.

She tried not to think about how well it matched the way she felt inside…

†

Ada became aware of a distant rumbling behind her and sped up. A glance in the rear-view mirror confirmed her fears; the tunnel was collapsing behind her. _Shit._

She grit her teeth together and pushed the accelerator to the floor. He must have blown it up. She knew there had been explosive charges in the tunnel so it could be detonated if necessary… Probably because Wesker had planned for this kind of eventuality.

Ada realised she would make it, just. She reached the end of the underground tunnel; her Mercedes SLR low enough to the ground that it slid beneath the giant blast door before it could close completely. The shock wave from the explosion smashing into the door was enough to make the car bounce once, but she'd made it through. Ada braked and sighed in relief.

As she was getting out of the vehicle, her communicator beeped. She smiled lightly as she pressed the button to answer it.

"Missed me?" She said and on the video screen Wesker smirked.

"Not exactly. I'm sure this parting of ways will be mutually beneficial if you decide to disappear instead of delivering that evidence I know Saunders gave you." He said. Ada cursed inwardly, how the hell had Wesker found out about the drive? Shoving it aside, she forced her face to remain calm.

"No, as in you missed me.' She said cattily "Next time you're going to blow me up, try being quicker."

"Duly noted.' Wesker replied, raising an eyebrow "Though I am truly saddened to know I will have another chance to try it; I had hoped you would use this opportunity to remove yourself from this business." Ada clenched the communicator so hard the plastic casing cracked.

"Not after what you did to me.' She said coldly "If I can't kill you myself, I'm sure this evidence will be enough to bring an entire army down on your head." Wesker's hands formed a steeple as he looked thoughtful.

"Ah, yes. The matter of the drive that our dear departed Damien gave you' He said calmly and Ada's heart sank. She had really hoped the agent would make it out "You see Miss Wong, I really can't let that fall into the wrong hands. I'm sure you understand" he continued and Ada laughed.

"What are you going to do? I'm miles away from the Facility and you're all out of explosives." She said confidently. But Wesker shook his head.

"Explosives, yes. I still have one last trick up my sleeve." His hand came into view holding a small remote and Ada paled, dropping the communicator and racing for the exit hatch.

Before she made it anywhere near, Wesker must have pressed the button because all she heard was a crackling noise before she felt the numbing pain of electric current run up her legs and then she was being thrown clean across the floor.

She hit the ground hard and convulsed for a moment before lying still in agony. It was clear to her that he'd rigged the floor to electrify but she had no idea how badly she was injured. Ada realised she was probably lucky that the shock had made her leg muscles convulse hard enough to throw her or she'd probably be dead.

_Don't faint. You're ok, you're ok _she told herself and pulled her body shakily upwards. Once sitting upright, Ada began to massage her legs, the muscles there cramped from the shock. It didn't seem like Wesker to use such an unpredictable method to try and kill her, he was usually more direct…

And then it occurred to her that he'd not been trying to kill her at all.

"Please no…" She whispered as she dug into her jacket pocket for the flash drive. Ada examined it and saw the blackened inside through the clear plastic casing. She couldn't help but scream aloud in frustration. After everything Damien had done, after she'd risked her neck to get it out of the Facility… It was all for nothing. Ada contemplated just lying there in defeat, but soon brushed off the idea.

_Come on. Get up. Get __**up**__. You can still help take that bastard down._

Ada stood shakily, pocketing the probably useless drive in the vague hope that something could be salvaged. Her legs were aching and her hair was a mess, but she couldn't let it slow her down. She walked to the ladder leading out of the tunnel and climbed it, slowed because of her pain, and opened the hatch. Bright light spilled into the dark tunnel and she pulled herself through. Now standing on a patch of barren land near Quito, Ada faced the setting sun with a determined look in her eyes.

_I'm going to find Leon… And Wesker will pay_ She thought _I promise. _

Ada wasn't sure if she was making a promise to herself or Damien. Maybe she was making it to the world. It didn't really matter; she knew she had a mission to complete and god help anybody who got in her way. She turned and with the warmth of the sun on her back Ada began to walk…

†

_In California…_

The morning sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains and onto Billy Coen's face. It was so bright that even in his state of half-sleep he had to turn over… And when he did he found himself face to face with Rebecca.

"Wha…?" He said unintelligibly and then remembered where he was. He barely recalled the moment they had gone from sitting on the sofa catching up in hushed voices as the others slept to when they had ended up lying across it in each other's arms.

Rebecca murmured something in her sleep and snuggled closer into Billy's chest. He could feel her soft breath puff against him like a little bird and swallowed hard. From the first time he'd seen her, Rebecca had unintentionally been pulling feelings out of him. Feelings which he'd always been pretty certain were best left in the dark, but now wondered whether they were really that bad. He felt… Happy.

Rebecca shifted again and the feeling of her soft breasts drove him crazy. She looked gorgeous sleeping and Billy's eyes traitorously flickered to her lips. He started leaning in on pure instinct, hesitated, and leaned in again...

"Billy…" he froze, had she been awake all this time? No, a look at her eyes told him she was still in dreamland but it made him smile that she had said his name in her sleep. Billy gently disentangled his limbs from Rebecca's, earning an unhappy groan from her at the loss of his warmth.

Sitting on the edge of the couch, Billy heard his stomach rumble. A quick glance at the clock informed him that the last time he'd eaten had been over twelve hours ago. He rose slowly and carefully stretched, noting a kink in his back from lying on the sofa all night.

Carefully stepping over the people on the floor in sleeping bags, Billy made his way to the kitchen. There was about one box of cereal in the pantry and it was half-full. He winced a little, he knew they had been called out on an emergency but Chris was going to have to find out how to feed about fourteen people in a hurry.

Soft foot falls behind him made him turn around to find Rebecca looking dishevelled and he wondered how she managed to make it look adorable. She wore a shy smile as she greeted him.

"Morning… When you fell asleep I wasn't sure if I should wake you or not, I hope you're not sore." She moved to lean against the kitchen island in an attempt to look casual and failed miserably, her cheeks flushed pink.

"Back is a little sore.' He admitted "But I'm glad you didn't wake me, I was happy where I was." Rebecca beamed at him.

"I… I'm pretty good with backrubs.' She said quietly and hopefully "I mean, I'm a medic after all so it's really my duty to make sure that…" Rebecca trailed off as Billy strolled over to her and rested his arms on the kitchen island at either side of her, leaning in close.

"Y'know' He said, his voice husky "If you wanna touch me, you don't need an excuse dollface."

"Billy…" She breathed, her eyes half-lidded as his lips came closer and closer to hers…

A chorus of wolf-whistles and cheers echoed from the left and the two looked startled, realising they were clearly visible from the lounge and that the rest of the team had apparently woken up.

"Ooh, keep it PG kids, you're gettin' Fong all hot and flustered!" Yelled Bruce.

"She's asleep, you git.' grumbled Mia from Delta Force "And so was I until you started yelling."

"Correction, we both were asleep until the _don gua_ started yelling" Fong piped up from somewhere to Bruce's right. Rebecca and Billy both winced as a hand shot out and swatted the STRATcom agent over the ear.

"Ouch, Fong!"

As laughter and a few curses began to bubble from the lounge, Rebecca's eyes slid back to Billy.

"Shall we take it upon ourselves to find them some breakfast?" She suggested and Billy nodded, a big smile on his face.

They passed Chris and Jill still sitting on the porch on their way out, Rebecca looking at her captain with concern.

"Did you stay up all night, Chris?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Don't worry about it… I'll catch some sleep this afternoon.' He said "Where are you two going?"

"Breakfast.' Rebecca replied "We thought we'd do you a favour and feed the demons inside." Chris groaned.

"Fuck… I knew there was something important I'd forgotten.' He said "Here Becca, take my credit card. Don't worry about the cost." Chris pulled his wallet out and handed the card to her. Rebecca accepted it reluctantly.

"What about the signature? They won't match up….' She turned the card over and blinked "oh." The so-called signature was a scrawled C R. Chris managed a wary smile.

"I know, easy as hell to forge but I've been using it since I was fourteen.' He said "Have fun."

"And you get her home safe, Coen." Jill murmured a sleepy smile on her face. Rebecca blushed and Billy gave Jill a half salute.

"Yes ma'am." He said grinning.

As the two walked down the path to the gate, Chris caught snatches of what was probably supposed to be a hushed conversation "Are they…?" "You'd think so, but…" And a hint of a sigh from Rebecca.

Wishing he hadn't heard that, Chris reluctantly drew his arm away from Jill. She sat up straight and they were both silent for a moment, listening to the birds singing their morning song.

"Chris…" Jill began and trailed off, staring at her hands.

"Yeah, Jill?" Chris prompted and she slowly looked up at him.

"I-"

Whatever she'd been about to say was cut off by a commotion behind them. Looking over their shoulders, the partners moved out of the way just in time before Bruce ran outside and practically jumped down the porch, Fong Ling hot on his heels spewing a stream of curses in Mandarin.

Jill and Chris looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"McGivern looks like he needs rescuing." Jill commented and Chris winked at her.

"Well it is in our job description." He said. She squeezed his hand.

"Let's roll."


	8. Pay the reaper

†

"_Never pay the reaper with love only…"_

* * *

Claire awoke to see bright white light and groaned through dry lips. Every single part of her body was in pain.

"Oh… Shit…" She rasped and then became aware of movement around her.

"She's awake" murmured a female voice. Claire thought she heard footsteps and then somebody else spoke next to her ear.

"Miss Redfield? I assume you can hear me." It was Wesker's voice. A giddy thought occurred to Claire that if she was dead, she was surely in hell. Her vision cleared a bit and she could make out Wesker through the haze of white fog. She attempted a glare.

"Go… Away."

Then she remembered "Steve!" It sent a shock through her and she jerked, immediately realising she was chained upright by her wrists. Her hands were numb and her feet barely touched the floor. Claire wondered if her arms were going to dislocate.

A glance around told her she was in a lab and she noticed the person standing behind Wesker, slightly to his left; a young girl with sullen green eyes and red hair. The expression on her face showed concern for Claire and dark bruises around her wrists not quite hidden by the sleeves of her lab coat told the younger Redfield that she was not here by choice.

Pain suddenly lanced through her skull, hot and white, and Claire became aware of something liquid sliding down her neck and front. Straining to look down, Claire felt fear curl within her at the sight of the puncture marks Steve had left on her; the blood that ran from them stained her skin bright red.

"She's bleeding again!' The girl exclaimed "Why hasn't it stopped?" Wesker just looked coolly in her direction.

"That is what you should be examining, Tammy. I suggest you hurry or Miss Redfield here may bleed to death."

Tammy shot Wesker a look of pure hatred and then hurried over to Claire, pressing a gauze pad to the worst wound on her neck.

"I'm going to give you a small dosage of Aprotinin.' Tammy said to Claire as calmly as possible "It might combat whatever is causing this bleeding. Are you feeling much pain?" Claire nodded.

"Mostly my head… Did the blood loss make me faint?" She asked and Tammy shook her head.

"I'm not quite sure; I haven't been told what happened. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"

Claire nodded grimly "Steve… He was biting me." Tammy went white and rounded on Wesker.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me? You know Steve has a high concentration of the viral agent in his saliva! She could become infected!" She yelled.

"What…?" Claire whispered.

"That is actually what I want to happen, Tammy. This is an excellent chance to study how and if it is able to be passed from person to person." Wesker stated. Tammy looked sick.

"You can't get away with doing this to people.' She said "I hope somebody _kills_ you for this!"

Claire saw Wesker's hand start to move but before she could warn her, Tammy had stumbled back, a hand flying to where Wesker had struck her, fast as lightening. A few ruby droplets of blood fell from her lip onto her white lab coat and Tammy very calmly and very slowly wiped her bloodied mouth on her sleeve.

"You can't hurt me anymore than you already have, Wesker.' She stated quietly and turned to Claire "Hold on, I'm going to get you that shot." And she disappeared out the door.

Claire watched her go, wishing she had not left her alone with Wesker. She turned her attention to him, feeling a rush of fury.

"What the hell did you do to her?" She demanded and Wesker gazed at her thoughtfully.

"You should perhaps be more concerned about what I am going to do to you." He said, taking a step towards her. It was one step too many and Claire fought the instinct to shrink back, knowing her restraints would not allow her far anyway.

"Where is Steve?" She asked meeting his red-gold eyes.

"Currently Mr. Burnside is indisposed.' Wesker explained "Had I not knocked him unconscious, he would very likely have continued to bite you until you were drained dry." Claire could hear the smirk on his voice as well as see it on his face.

"Please tell me what you've done to him." She requested quietly. It stung, having to ask that way, but Claire needed an answer. She needed to find out whether or not Steve was beyond saving.

"Since you asked so nicely.' Wesker's voice mocked her "Steve is now infected with a variant of the T-virus named T-Angelus; it was created by synthesising the virus with the DNA from prehistoric cells found in Siberia. It is unknown to us just what kind of creature the cells came from, however the resulting virus appears to award the host the benefits of the T-virus without those negative side effects I have no doubt you are quite aware of. Thus far, it also seems to interact well with the T-Veronica strain in Steve's body. Understand?" Claire nodded stiffly.

"Is it reversible?" She hardly dared to ask.

"If you are concerned about Steve's appearance, fear not.' Was Wesker's reply "As of so far it appears that extreme emotional surges trigger the mutation. When he is calm, he remains quite normal. He should be able to learn to control the mutation at will."

Claire couldn't admit to Wesker she had truly been concerned for her own appearance should the virus infect her, but it was at least a small relief to know Steve could still look human. That just left one question…

"He bit me and he killed Damien.' Claire stated "Why?" She knew there was no way the boy she knew could have done those things, she didn't care if it was down to the virus or some other sick interference, Claire just needed to hear it said that Steve was innocent.

"Ah, yes.' Wesker said as he nonchalantly leant against an examination table "Steve's behaviour is all due to the P30 serum, it enhances physical performance and leaves the subject quite open to suggestion. We have been dosing Mr. Burnside with it since his mutation, mostly to keep him docile. However, it proved useful to have him eliminate Saunders and attempt to transfer T-Angelus to you."

Claire winced. "Does he know what he's being made to do?" She asked.

"Most likely.' Wesker replied "Yes, I'm fairly certain he knows what he is doing, but he can't stop it. Though once you get to experience it firsthand you can do me the favour of confirming that theory." Claire's blood pounded furiously with rage.

"You bastard. I won't let you." She hissed.

"Hm. You won't exactly have a choice in the matter, my dear." He said, moving as to leave.

"My brother will kill you for this." She said quietly and Wesker paused, turning to her with a chilling smile on his face.

"Once you are under my control Claire, I'm afraid your brother will be the one to meet his end, and at your hand nonetheless.' He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand "Because I don't think he could ever bring himself to kill you." Claire jerked out of his hold.

"_Fuck. You._"

"No time for such luxuries I'm afraid' Wesker taunted, heading for the door "I'll see you soon, Claire."

He passed Tammy as she came back in and the young scientist did not take her eyes off of him until he was gone. She turned to Claire, her face softening.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long, are you alright?" She asked as she prepped a needle. Claire shook her head.

"He didn't do anything, but I… Think I'm going to pass out again" She said woozily. Tammy looked worried.

"I wish I could unchain you, but he has the key.' she was apologetic, swabbing a patch of skin on Claire's arm with alcohol "Damn him… This is going to sting a little." She slid the needle into Claire's vein and depressed the plunger slowly.

"Tammy… Why are you here? Did he kidnap you?" Claire asked, focusing on the pain of the needle to try and stay awake. Tammy smiled grimly.

"I _was_ here by my own choice.' Said the redheaded girl "But that was before I knew what I was really doing. Before I knew he was…" She stopped, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Tammy removed the needle from Claire's arm then hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry.' Claire said softly "When did you find out?" Tammy sighed.

"I wish I could say I was suspicious all along, but you wouldn't believe looking at him now just how charming he was; I never suspected he was anything like this. I only found out after he killed Damien. He was my best friend, and he had him killed just like _that_. I couldn't believe it." Tammy's voice was soft and broken. Claire wished she could reach out and offer the younger girl some comfort.

"It isn't the first time he's had people fooled, Tammy.' She said instead "In Raccoon City seven years ago, Wesker was working for Umbrella Corporation. He had infiltrated the S.T.A.R.S unit of the police and was made their captain. Wesker was ordered to lure them into one of the research labs and used them to collect combat data on Umbrella's weapons. Only four of the S.T.A.R.S survived."

"How do you know this?" Tammy asked in shock at the news.

"My brother is one of the surviving members.' Claire replied "Wesker betrayed Umbrella in the end, he's obviously been building up to this place ever since. I've met him once before now and he almost killed me twice. But Chris came for me then, he'll come for me now. We'll both get out of here, ok?" She promised.

"I hope you're right.' Tammy said quietly "I really do."

†

_In California..._

Ada pulled her rental car up to the curb near Chris' house and cut the engine.

"Finally." She sighed. Ada had been travelling non-stop since she left the facility. She had actually walked until she found a taxi and taken it straight to _Simón Bolívar_ International Airport. From there she had chartered a private jet and held her breath when she used the Facility-issued credit card to pay for it, feeling a small thrill of victory when it went through. _Let Wesker foot the bill_. Evidently he had not had time to cancel it. Ada had considered ordering the most expensive meal and wine on the flight to spite him but she'd not felt hungry, just nervous. It was hard to sit there feeling as if the jet was crawling through the sky instead of speeding along at about six hundred miles per hour. The whole way she had thought about Leon and what she was going to say to him. The whole way she had drawn a blank.

She'd used the air phone so that when she landed she had a rental car waiting for her. She knew she had probably amassed a large number of speeding tickets since departing the airport, but they would never be able to track her down considering that her ID was registered to a Jiang Cho and would lead them straight to a phony address.

Ada rested her head against the steering wheel for a moment and thought about just how she was going to approach this; she knew that Leon was probably with Chris by now, Claire had most likely been missing long enough for her brother to start mounting the rescue and there was little doubt that Leon would be helping. She just prayed he wouldn't turn her away as her hand fluttered nervously to the flash drive in her pocket; it wasn't likely anything could be pulled from it but there was no harm in trying.

Regardless of her hesitation, she knew she would have to speak to Leon first; Chris would probably start interrogating her about Claire before he listened to a word she had to say. Glancing over at the Redfield's home she saw a group of people outside on the lawn sparring. One of them was a small woman of Asian descent. Ada wondered if she spoke Mandarin; that could be her key to getting to Leon without drawing too much unnecessary attention. Getting out of the car, she crossed the street. As the woman completed her match and went to pick up a water bottle from near the driveway, Ada approached her.

"_Ni hao. Nin shi zhongguoren ma__?_" She asked softly. The woman turned dark, suspicious eyes on the red-clothed agent and looked her up and down before nodding slowly.

"_Wo jiao Fong Ling._"

Ada was relieved.

"I'm sorry.' She said in English "I have information concerning your mission, I was hoping to speak with you a while." Fong Ling looked cautious.

"Then you should speak to Chris Redfield. I am not in charge here." Ada shook her head.

"I should explain…' She said and switched back to Mandarin so they would not be understood if overheard. She introduced herself before detailing the situation and though Fong Ling looked hesitant; she eventually nodded and agreed to fetch Leon. Ada said she would be waiting in her car and went back across the road, sliding into the red BMW.

She tried to keep her heart calm as she waited, Ada didn't think she had ever been so nervous before. When Leon finally emerged from the house it suddenly became a matter of keeping her heart beating at all; he had obviously just gotten out of the shower because his hair was wet and a heat flush still lingered on his cheeks.

_Keep your mind on the job!_ She scolded herself as Leon crossed the road.

"Ada. Why are you here?" His words sounded harsh but there was something hopeful in the way he looked at her.

"Hello Leon.' She said "Get in and we'll go for a drive." Leon didn't move so she smiled at him encouragingly.

"It's ok, things have changed since last time; Wesker wants me dead now." She held up the wrist she had damaged when Wesker had electrocuted her in the tunnel. It was tightly bandaged but Leon didn't look completely convinced.

"I don't know if I can believe anything you say, Ada.' He said, sounding almost regretful "And if I make a wrong move here, it's going to cost us badly." Ada's smile faded.

"Of course. I know that.' She said softly "What reason have I ever given you to trust me?"

"Ada…" Leon's voice was soft and he looked as if he were about to move closer to her but held back.

"Please, at least give me a chance to convince you. If I can't then I'll go away, I promise. You'll never see me again, but I helped you last time; you at least owe me this much." Ada said firmly, looking into his soft grey eyes.

He looked back at her for what seemed like an eternity, not moving. Ada was holding her breath but eventually Leon sighed, opening the passenger door and getting in. Ada allowed herself to put a hand on his arm.

"Thank you, Leon."

He didn't look at her and didn't say anything, but after a second placed his hand gently on hers.

"Buckle up." Ada said coyly and Leon hurriedly reached for his seatbelt; he remembered the last time Ada had driven him somewhere and wasn't about to forget it in a hurry.

They drove in silence until they reached a small coffee shop. Leon warily followed Ada inside and they slid into a booth near the back. Once the waitress had poured them coffee "just call when you wanna order" and Ada was sure they had their privacy, she began to fill Leon in on what had happened to Claire.

"… And when Wesker brought her in, I thought she was going to die. Something had attacked her out in that forest and there was blood everywhere. But Wesker saved her. He had the doctors patch her up and give her a blood transfusion. I think he wants to use her as bait.' She told him "I tried to help her when I was making my own escape, but the fact is that there was very little I could do. Claire is most likely still in the Facility." Leon nodded grimly.

"If that's the case then he probably won't kill her.' He said "But what made you come here, Ada?" His eyes begged honesty from her and Ada couldn't meet his gaze.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you.' She answered after a while "But what you really need to know is that Wesker has created a new virus, it's not like anything I've seen before. The T-Virus was originally intended to create super soldiers, but it was never practical since only one in ten million would actually turn into what Umbrella dubbed Tyrants. This one seems to work on anyone and he's already used it on Steve Burnside." Leon looked pale at the news.

"Fuck.' He said simply "That's… _Fuck_."

"I know." Ada agreed and Leon put his head in his hands for a moment.

"Ok.' He said at length "So you've basically just told me this is way more than a simple rescue mission; we were expecting that, but this sounds… Well, it sounds like we're screwed."

"I told you because if you're prepared, you might be able to fight it.' Ada disagreed "When I got out I had a flash drive with me containing enough evidence against the Facility for a whole army to be sent in, but Wesker fried it. Almost got me too. I don't think it'll be of any use now." She put it on the table and slid it across to Leon. He picked it up and examined the blackened plastic.

"Hunnigan can take a look at it, but you're right; it looks pretty useless.' He said "Any other bad news?" Ada cringed.

"Unfortunately, yes. Wesker has a serum called P30. It essentially allows him to control people once he injects them with it; it's not much use on humans because it's metabolized far too fast but once Steve was infected with T-Angelus…"

"Let me guess; works like a charm?" Leon finished dryly and Ada nodded.

"Twelve hours of total control. It also enhances physical ability to inhuman levels; think the strength of the Tyrant in Raccoon City but doubled.' She said and Leon winced as she continued "If I know Wesker, he won't stop with Steve; he'll use it on Claire too."

"Claire? But…' Leon shook his head "No. You said it wasn't useful on humans."

Ada looked at him meaningfully and Leon slapped the Formica-topped table in frustration.

"Fuck!" He cursed again loudly and Ada winced as she noticed heads turning in their direction.

"Leon, keep your voice down." She said lowly.

"You basically just told me that _psycho _is going to infect Claire with his fucked-up virus and then turn her against us!" Leon snapped and Ada frowned.

"I know, it's hard but right now we have to think about a plan." She said.

"Well, you came here and dumped this on me; I thought you had one" Leon said irritably and Ada slammed her coffee cup down on the table.

"I came here because for a _year_ that bastard has had a noose around my neck. I had to stop counting how many people he was ordering me to kill because I'd have gone insane if I'd kept it up!' She hissed "And the only reason why I did it was because he convinced me that he'd kill you unless I obeyed him and you know what? I_ believed_ him." She got to her feet and stormed out of the shop, heading for the car.

As she passed an alley, Leon caught up with her and grabbed her by the wrist "don't just walk away from me like that!" He said angrily as he flung her inside.

"Let _go_ of me, Leon!" Ada cried. Leon immediately relinquished his grip and looked away from her.

"I'm sorry, Ada. Really." He said and his voice was a lot softer than before. Ada rubbed the red ring of flesh where he'd grabbed her.

"Do you want my help or not?" She demanded and Leon frowned.

"Of course, we need the inside information." He replied tightly and Ada folded her arms over her chest.

"Then stop acting as if all of this is my fault;' she said, still hurt by his treatment "Because I know you hate the idea of me helping you, but you need me to and I can't if you're going to blame me for this."

"I wasn't blaming you, Ada!' Leon protested angrily "I was upset! What you said back there… Was it true? Were you really working with him because he threatened to kill me?" His voice had become gentle again and Ada couldn't handle it. She didn't want to talk about what Wesker had made her do; it was too painful.

"It was a mistake for me to come here.' She said, unfolding her arms and starting to walk away "I'll write up the information I have and send it to you, this isn't going to work."

Leon grabbed her before she could move that far and pushed her into the wall of the alley. Ada looked out to the street, panicked, but they were standing in a dark patch hidden from the street by a pipe and rusted fire escape. She turned back to Leon and his face was mere inches from her own.

"Stop it, Ada.' He growled "Stop doing that to me." His body pressed to hers and Ada struggled to remember how to draw air into her lungs.

"What? I'm not…" She said breathlessly as his hands tightened on her shoulders.

"You don't understand, Ada.' He said lowly "Every time you leave me like that... It fucking _kills_ me."

"Leon, please let go!" She pleaded as his head dipped closer. He paused for a second.

"_No_.' He said and she saw a heated look in his eyes "I _won't_. Not this time."

Ada looked back at him and it felt as if she were melting. She had never wanted to cause Leon any pain, but she couldn't take back her actions. She wanted nothing more than to make it up to him, but she didn't know how.

_Take everything, my body, my soul. You can have whatever you want, I just can't stand to hurt you anymore…_

"Leon…" Ada gasping his name and it was all it took; he leaned in and kissed her desperately, his lips surging against hers as if she would disappear the moment he stopped. Ada's hands frantically pawed his front, finally slipping up inside his t-shirt where she found nothing but hard muscle.

Leon's hips pressed insistently against hers, the motion pushing her thighs apart and she felt him against her, already so hard. Ada's hands slid further up from his stomach to his chest, her thumb brushing a nipple. Leon groaned; his hands at the back of her head entwining in the silken strands of her hair and pulling her deeper into their kiss.

Ada instinctively pressed harder against Leon at the sensation of his tongue sweeping hotly in her mouth and her hand fell, touched him through his clothes and drew a low moan from his throat. His hands moved down, nails scraping her shoulders and arms and then they were at her hips, pushing her skirt up with some difficulty, they were pressed so tightly together. Ada fumbled with his zipper as Leon's fingers painted delicate bruises against her skin in his haste. She finally tugged it down and her hand moved inside, past his boxers and she gripped him; his flesh was hot and hard in her smooth palm and his mouth dropped open.

"Ada…" He choked out.

She bit her lip and looked away, suddenly wondering if they should do this _here_ or at all. It had the potential to further complicate things between them and Ada didn't know if they could handle that. She glanced back at Leon and the look in his eyes was almost scalding; they were begging, pleading for her to keep touching him because he would never, could never voice it.

She gave up. She gave in.

Leon gasped as Ada began to stroke him, gently at first but then faster and harder as the sounds falling from his lips spurred her on.

"God.' He groaned "Let me… Want you so bad." His hands slid up her naked thighs, prying them apart just that one inch wider and then his hand was right _there_; just where she needed him the most. His fingers began to move in gentle, circular motions with just the right amount of pressure and her body burned for him. Leon's touches ceased for a moment as he pulled away her underwear. His eyes locked on hers for a moment, as if asking permission and it was all she could do not to scream.

"Please.' She gasped, and then repeated louder; "_Please_" his hand was driving her crazy; she needed more of him. As if understanding, Leon moved forward and meshed their hips together as he eased himself inside of her.

Ada's eyes fluttered closed as he continued to sink in until he was buried as far as he could go. He paused for a moment, disbelief that it was real fluttering across his face for a moment before he began to move. As his hips rolled into hers he captured her mouth again, his tongue plundering deeply and Ada found she didn't give a damn where they were anymore. She didn't care about the mission; there was only Leon and all the sensations she was feeling.

His name was a prayer on her lips as she clenched around him, as he lifted her leg up and around his waist, his other hand kneading a breast through her clothes. Ada moaned at the friction of his palm and the way he bucked into her like his life depended on it.

_Leon… Leon, I love you._

"Fuck…' He breathed against her, his hair matted to his damp forehead "Ada…"

Ada felt she was close and knew Leon was too as his thrusts quickened. When he eventually tensed against her it was all she could do to hold onto his shoulders tight like he was saving her from falling.

_But I already have… _

She didn't know if Leon loved her like she loved him, but as he rested against her with his lips pressed into the crook of her neck, it didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that in that moment Ada could cling to him and breathe in his scent, telling herself he was the only thing in the world that meant a thing.

†

_In Ecuador…_

Steve Burnside came to groaning; his head felt like it'd had a cinderblock dropped on it.

His vision was a little foggy but he could immediately tell he was not at home; he was surrounded by slate-grey walls and the cold smell of mildew hung in the air. As Steve sat up gingerly, noting the cramped and uncomfortable cot he'd been laying on, he saw the barred door at the end of the sparse room.

_Is this a prison? Did I do something?_

He realised he couldn't remember a damn thing; trying to think about just how he had come to be in this cold, dark place just made his vision fuzzier and his head throb harder. Running a hand over the back of his head revealed a large lump the size of a walnut.

"… Ouch." Steve said thickly, perhaps more from the shock of finding it than the pain.

Noting a sink and mirror to his left, Steve pulled himself up, taking care to make sure his unsteady legs didn't suddenly give way. He inched his way to the sink and took a look at himself in the mirror and saw he was clothed in nothing but a pair of shorts. When he looked closer at his reflexion he couldn't help but gasp, blinking in surprise; his hair was longer and messier than he had remembered it to be, the auburn locks just scraping the top of his shoulders. When the hell had that happened? He noticed how pale he was too, his complexion, normally clear and healthy was so pale and ashen that it made the green of his eyes stand out dramatically. Leaning in just a little bit closer, he squinted in order to examine them; something seemed off…

Steve took an involuntary step back; the tiny capillaries in his eyes were bright green.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" It was rapidly becoming clear that his apparent imprisonment was the least of his troubles. He wanted answers and the only way to obtain those was to get the hell out of that cell. Steve went to the door, rapping on it with his fist. The cold steel emitted a hollow echo and he peered out from the gaps in the bars.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called and waited for an answer… Nothing.

When it became clear that no matter how long he waited he would receive no answer, Steve slammed his hands hard against the door in frustration. The hinges whined in protest and Steve jumped when the door fell off its hinges and hit the ground loud enough to make his ears ring.

He moved forward cautiously and checked the door's hinges for any sign that they had been weakened, finding the steel to be twisted outwards. The young man stared at his hands for a moment and shook his head; _surely not._

Poking his head out the doorway, Steve checked for people. When he saw the corridor was deserted he cautiously stepped out from the cell, shivering in the dank darkness. He drew in a deep breath, setting off down the corridor and praying he wouldn't meet any creatures like the zombies from that damn island…

Steve stopped dead in his tracks.

"Island…?' His head throbbed "What? I… Claire!"

It came flooding back to him; the capture, the uncertainty, the monsters. Then meeting up with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Steve remembered how he had fallen further and further for her every single damn time they had met. He remembered how he had been caught by Alexia Ashford… And he remembered how he had died in Claire's arms.

"No. _No._ It can't be true." He croaked and looked down at where his fatal wound had been but saw nothing. Just what had happened to him? Steve's head seemed to throb for a moment and fragments of memories flew threw his brain;

"_Please… Please remember me…"_

"_Steve… We have to get out of here!"_

"_STOP IT!"_

"NO!" Steve stumbled back into the wall, his breath caught in his throat; if what he was remembering was real then Claire was in a lot of trouble and he… He was responsible.

He'd not decided to start running; Steve just found himself flying down the corridor faster than he could ever remember moving before. He _knew_ Claire was somewhere close and needed help. Nothing would stop him from getting to her.

_Don't let me be too late_ he prayed as he ran on through the black corridor; Claire's face the one thing guiding him through the darkness.

†

_Elsewhere…_

Claire had cursed from pain before, gasped and even yelled, but the agony of what was now happening to her body was making her _scream;_

Her flesh burned, flaring hotter and hotter until she swore her skin was surely bubbling. She felt the grinding sensation of her bones shifting inside her and howled louder.

"_Wesker!_' Tammy cried "What's happening to her?" Her eyes were wide in horror and though she was poised as if to help Claire, she wasn't moving; there wasn't really anything she could do.

"I don't know.' Wesker replied, calm even as the sight before him unfolded "Though it is probably nothing more than that the mutation is highly painful when conscious." Tammy looked repulsed at his impassive tone.

"I… I've got to help her!" But the second the young scientist took a step towards Claire's convulsing body, Wesker had grabbed her; his strong arms enveloping her waist and pulling her tight against his chest. Tammy's arms were pinned thoroughly at her sides and as he spoke softly into her ear, her skin crawled.

"Don't interfere.' He was saying "I want to see this happen… And somewhere inside, I know you do too."

Even as she struggled, Tammy could not hold back the thought that he was _right_. Never had she willed any pain upon Claire, and never would she wish it on any living person… But her brilliant mind was buzzing; alive at the sight of the science unfolding before her. Tammy felt sick, but stilled in Wesker's arms, knowing that he'd won on this one.

Claire gave a final cry as her skin turned an almost translucent blue and dark scales erupted upon it. When wings tore free from her back and spattered blood and clear fluid on the wall behind her, Claire fell unconscious and Tammy felt her knees go weak. Wesker let her go, causing her to fall unceremoniously to the floor.

"Fascinating…' He said quietly as he stepped forwards to examine Claire, her body hanging limply from the shackles encircling her wrists "How absolutely fascinating. If your brother could see you now, would he be disgusted, I wonder? Or perhaps he would find this as enthralling as I."

Wesker trailed his hand over a scale on her cheek and found it to be smooth and hard. Similar scales formed an almost armour-like covering on her breasts and upon her groin, trailing out and down her thighs. Her wrists and elbows had indentations invisible to a normal eye from where hard spikes of a keratinous material would erupt should Claire ever now need to defend herself.

"I hope I shall see Chris' face when he finds out what has become of you, my dear. Since the day your brother tried to ruin me, I have wanted to see him suffer as all that is precious to him is defiled and destroyed."

As Wesker brushed a finger over Claire's lips a small hand tugged at his leg weakly. He looked down to see Tammy, though still visibly shaken from his words and Claire's transformation, glaring up at him from the floor.

"Don't _touch_ her." She hissed.

"I would much prefer it if you were unconscious right now." Wesker said uncaringly and kicked her so hard that the sound of a rib snapping was audible. Tammy's face grew white and she slipped soundlessly to the floor, joining Claire in unconsciousness. Wesker turned his attention back to her, smiling.

"This, Claire, is only the beginning."

* * *

Please see the link in my profile for notes on the chapters.


	9. Switch us around

†

"_I'd like to rip you out of your skin; I'd switch us around and put you back in…"_

* * *

Tammy leaned heavily against the wall as she dragged herself back to her quarters. Every movement tugged at her injured ribs and she winced in pain. Though it appeared to be a clean break there was still a chance that if it moved the wrong way the broken rib would end up stabbing into a lung, then she'd be in a lot more trouble. She'd had to bandage it herself too for it seemed that during her time unconscious all the other lab personal had vanished. Tammy didn't want to think why.

It was a small relief when she finally reached her door. Fumbling her key card out of her pocket, she swiped it in the scanner to disengage the lock. After pushing the door open, she headed straight for the bed and gingerly laid herself down.

_What am I going to do now?_

It had occurred to her that since Wesker was so busy studying Claire there was a very good chance she could get out. It was tempting, but her voice of reason told her she'd not get far, not out in the forest, injured, with Wesker hot on her heels. When she had regained consciousness, finding she was still sprawled on the floor of the lab, Tammy had initially been surprised that she had woken at all; thinking that now Wesker had Claire, she would not be of anymore use. When she had questioned him on it, he'd barely even glanced in her direction.

"You're of some use to me yet, Tamsin." He'd said. Tammy had felt a stab of fury at his sudden use of her real name; she'd been Tammy since as far back as she could remember regardless of what was written on her birth certificate and Wesker using it just seemed as if he was telling her he knew everything about her. The lack of any real answers only further served to enrage her, but now weak and injured Tammy was beyond violence or abusive words; she'd never been suited to them anyway and now even those had deserted her. When it had become clear she'd not receive any answers from him, Tammy had picked herself up from the floor and limped off to see to her injury.

"I don't want it to be like this…" She whispered into her pillow and closed her eyes.

Time dragged on slowly but she couldn't sleep. Even if she did, Tammy realised she'd probably just be haunted by nightmares. Giving up on it, she cautiously eased herself off the bed and stood, gazing down at her sweater. She glared at the blood spotting it and turned to her closet, opening it to survey the contents. A small whine of frustration grew in her throat when she realised Wesker had dirtied her last clean sweater and with her own blood nonetheless. After a short, desperate rummage in the back of the closet a sigh of defeat escaped her lips and she pulled out the last thing she had to wear.

The leaf-green dress was very simple, but elegant with a fitted bodice and full skirt stopping modestly just above the knees. Tammy had bought it on a whim but never worn it; she'd not had the courage to wear anything that showed her figure since she'd turned fourteen so the dress had gone in the closet and never come out again.

She gingerly stripped off her bloodied clothes and pulled it on. Standing before her mirror, Tammy's frown deepened; she felt almost naked and vulnerable but it was better than wearing clothes that were soiled… Or smelt like him.

Tammy turned her eyes away from the mirror. She didn't have time to dwell on such things. She retrieved a bottle of Advil from her draw and downed two, hoping to cut down the pain from her ribs. She wanted to get back to Claire soon, though she was uncertain how she could possibly help her now. She remembered that Wesker had taken a gun from Claire. What had he done with it? Probably put it in the security room. Tammy didn't know how to use a firearm, but she'd have to chance it.

She walked out of her room and hesitated for a second then shook her head. The sound of her shoes filled the empty corridor with a hollow tapping noise as she walked and she shivered in her thin dress.

_I'm so scared_ she thought _but I've got no choice; I have to try…_

†

_Elsewhere…_

Claire took a long, shuddering breath as awareness began to creep back into her. She felt air whisper over her face and heard light, even footsteps as somebody came to stand in front of her. She struggled to find her bearings.

"You're awake? Good." That voice… She recognised it; it made her heart beat faster but she couldn't think why. She wasn't sure where she was, or even _who _she was. What was going on?

_I'm Claire… I'm here to find somebody… Steve. Oh god, what did they do to you? What did they do to me?_

"Who…? What…?" She tried to speak but she couldn't complete the sentences, her head felt so foggy.

"Do you remember who you are?" It was that damned voice again, but this time something sparked in her head and Claire opened her eyes, blinking at the bright lights. What had happened came flooding back to her.

"My name is Claire… And I remember everything."

She frowned; why did that line sound so stupid? She shook it off and focused on the person in front of her... Wesker… She glared at him and he simply smiled in return. Claire ground her teeth together at the self-satisfied look on his face.

"I am getting really, _really_ sick of waking up to your face." She hissed from between her teeth.

"Believe me Claire, it still remains difficult to resist the urge to kill you but since doing so would mean forfeiting my leverage over your dear brother, I have to put up with you." Wesker sneered in response. His words meant very little to Claire then, she was more concerned with something else…

"Did it work?" Claire asked and it felt as if her heart had dropped into her stomach as Wesker smiled again.

"Why don't you take a look at yourself and find out?" He said. Claire twisted away from him as he reached out to unlock her chains. When they came loose she fell to the floor, unprepared for how weak her knees were. Wesker pointed to a mirrored panel on the wall and she took a deep breath, raising her eyes to it…

Claire couldn't help but jerk back from her reflection _no, that can't be me!_

Silver veins pulsed gently beneath translucent blue skin covered with dark patches of scale. The hair which fell to her shoulders was the colour of storm-tossed seas and her eyes, an abnormal silver-flecked cerulean widened in shock as she caught sight of the wings on her back. Claire touched a trembling hand to one and it flared softly beneath her fingers.

"Jesus…' She whispered "What am I?"

"My most successful creation." Wesker replied and gripped her wrist tightly, hurling her up onto her shaky legs. Claire was vaguely aware that she should fight back, but through the shock she could only struggle weakly as he pushed her towards the operating table in the centre of the room. Claire had to grab onto it to keep from falling again.

"How… How can I face my brother like this?" She whispered, suddenly feeling numb.

"Worry not. The next time you see Chris will also be the last time, my dear." Wesker said as he came up behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder, the other reaching for a needle. Claire tried to struggle but she was still weak and he held her fast, fingers digging into her flesh hard enough to bruise.

"Stop it!" She moaned, still trying to tug herself loose as Wesker bought the needle closer and closer to her neck…

Claire heard somebody enter the room and Wesker paused. She craned her head around to see but only registered a flash of green before Wesker was thrown away from her, falling to one knee as he skidded across the floor.

Steve stood over him, spikes once more jutting from his arms and looking as fearsome as before, yet when he spoke Claire felt her heart lift;

"Touch her again and I'll kill you."

†

_In California…_

Leon and Ada hadn't spoken a word to each other on the way back to Chris' house. Ada hadn't even been able to meet his gaze since she had looked up at him in the alley to see what looked like regret in his eyes. It made her feel lower than low and they had returned to the car in silence.

There was some good news though; Hunnigan had miraculously been able to rescue a file containing the Facility's blueprints from the seemingly ruined flash drive. It wasn't evidence to use against Wesker, but at least they could plan a way inside.

Right then Ada was sitting far away from Leon on Chris' couch, sketching out a map from the blueprints while Chris and the rest of S.T.A.R.S debated whether to involve her in the mission.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to trust her, Chris.' Jill was saying "Suppose she's still working for Wesker?"

"But Leon seems pretty confident that we can trust her.' He replied "Apparently he was blackmailing her into working for him."

"But since when?' Barry questioned "Wasn't she the one who obtained the G-Virus for him? Has he been blackmailing her all these years?" Rebecca frowned.

"It does sound bad, but she did help Leon when it was dangerous for her to, right? And she has all that inside information."

They fell silent for a moment, weighing up the various points before Chris folded his arms over his chest and spoke "I think she's only here because it has something to do with whatever Wesker is planning, but I don't think she's working for him anymore. Either way, we're sunk without the information she has."

The others nodded; it was a precarious situation but they knew they were short on intell needed to plan a way inside the Facility.

"I'll tell her she's in.' Chris said, going to the door "But I want everyone to keep an eye on her."

Ada stood up as Chris entered the room, relieved at not being alone with Leon anymore but now nervous about what Chris was going to say.

"Okay;' He said "We're going to trust you enough to help us, but if something goes wrong because of your involvement and Claire gets hurt, I'll shoot you myself. Understand?" Ada had been expecting such words and just nodded.

"I do."

"Good.' Said Chris "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you.' Ada replied "And… For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your sister. It can't have been easy to hear what I had to say."

"Yeah… Thanks for trying to help her.' Chris said, and was quiet for a moment before he was all-business again "We've told you what we know so far, it's your turn to fill in the gaps."

"Right.' Ada spread her finished map out on the coffee table "This is a map of the Facility; the top part deals with the manufacturing of bio weapons but where we need to get to is here; the test labs" she circled a section with red pen and Chris nodded.

"What kind of defences are we talking about?" He asked.

"For starters, a lot of them.' Ada replied and marked some sections with red crosses "There are plenty of Hunter b. patrolling outside of the Facility, but all through the test labs is where you'll encounter the biggest defence. Wesker has been constantly experimenting with the effects of the T-Virus on animals and peoples; he's used hundreds of subjects and created a lot of specialised b.. It won't be easy."

"It never is.' Chris said "What about Wesker? Where exactly is he going to be?" Ada pointed to the lowest area of the map.

"In the sub levels. I used to have a pass code but it will have been revoked by now. We'll never be able to get to it unless we reach the security centre.' She circled a large area in the middle of the map. "The top of the Facility has a self-destruct mechanism; if we activate it all of the locked doors will open, including the one leading to the sub levels; from what I can tell, it's like a bomb shelter down there so the explosion won't affect it."

"Sounds Risky.' Commented Jill "How can we be sure we won't get caught up in the blast?"

"That's the thing; because of the location of the security centre in relation to the sub level entrance, you'll have enough time to get _out_ of the Facility once you trip the detonation sequence but not enough to get to the sub levels.' Said Ada "Which is why you'll need to split the team in two so one can wait at the entrance while the other sets off the self-destruct sequence."

"I don't like it.' Barry said immediately "Wesker will be tough enough as it is, but if we halve our numbers, do we even have a shot?"

Silence fell over the group and one by one, each of them turned their eyes to Chris. The S.T.A.R.S captain's face was a blank mask and his arms were folded over his chest. He looked deep in thought but when he became aware of the teams gazes he shook his head.

"This plan _is_ our shot.' He said "I don't like the idea of facing Wesker without full numbers anymore than you, but we don't have any other options."

"Hey _capitán_' Anthony Ramirez of Delta Force spoke up "What if we fail? I mean, this Wesker guy… _Él es loco_, right? What if he kicks all our asses?"

"_Cierra la boca, _Anthony.' Snapped Jill "You're not helping." Chris shook his head.

"No, Jill. He's right; everyone needs to hear this.' He said and turned to the team "Ramirez is right; not everybody is going to walk away from this. I know you're aware of that or you wouldn't be here. What you don't know is what will happen if we can't kill Albert Wesker." Chris walked to the centre of the room, as if unsure what he was going to say for a moment before he started to speak again.

"If we fail on this mission, then Wesker will use his creations to destroy the whole planet; I can tell you right now he is more than capable of it. We've got to do everything we can to make sure that does not happen.' He said "We're going to gather evidence of what he's been up to as well, people have to know. If we do fail then it might be enough to give the world a chance… But the truth is we might be the only one it's got."

The silence once more descended but this time it was like the hush of a church during a funeral; everybody had known that not all of them would make it through the mission, but Chris' words made them realise just how much was at stake.

"_Fantástico._' Anthony groaned, breaking the silence "Dibs on being in the team _not_ fighting Wesker."

His words broke some of the tension hanging over the group and Jill even managed a smile.

"That's not very manly of you, Anthony." She pointed out and the Latino shrugged.

"Whatever, _Chiquita._ I'm not suicidal."

"No, but you are _loco_." Mia chimed in and punched him on the shoulder.

Chris watched the team as laughter and conversation broke out among them. Privately he had contemplated if he and everyone else weren't just a little suicidal after all. _Maybe it's what keeps us running head-long into danger like this_.

But then Jill caught his eye, smiling and Chris quickly remedied his thought;

_Or maybe it's something else entirely…_

†

_In Ecuador…_

"Touch her again and I'll kill you."

Rage burned in Wesker's eyes as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth where Steve had struck him.

"It seems Miss Allen _forgot_ to give you more P30.' He growled, slowly standing up straight "I may have to teach her another lesson on what happens to those who disobey me…" He suddenly moved forward in a blur of motion and clamped his hand around Steve's throat.

"But I'll start by taking you out."

Wesker threw Steve and he crashed into the wall. He was stunned for a brief second before he recovered and ran at Wesker, trying to hit him with the spikes jutting from his arms. Wesker dodged as he lunged but it was clear that Steve was moving too fast for Wesker to attack him. It was only a matter of time before one of the spikes caught him across the face, knocking his sunglasses to the floor and opening a deep cut along his left cheek. Wesker seemed surprised that the blow had been landed and that brief moment of distraction was all the time it took for Steve to drive another spike up and into Wesker's stomach. It exited out his back with an awful wet sound and Wesker's eyes widened in shock and pain before he fell backwards off the spike, crashing heavily to the floor.

Claire looked on as blood began to pool beneath his still body _is he dead? Please tell me he's dead!_

"Claire...' Steve's voice called her attention away from Wesker and she saw that instead of the feral, snarling face he had worn before, he now looked ashamed. His voice, though still bearing that animalistic growl, was almost normal. Claire realised with a start that he sounded exactly as he had after he'd shot his infected father to save her seven years ago. Beneath his fearsome appearance, was he once again the person she had known him as?

"Steve?" She said his name hesitantly, hardly daring to hope. He moved towards her with slow, unsteady steps and Claire fought the urge to draw back. When he fell to his knees before her she could not suppress a gasp and nearly pulled away when he clutched her hand. But then he pulled it to his face, nuzzling into her palm.

"I'm so sorry..." He whispered.

The words shook her and tears welled in her eyes. Claire threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, sobbing with relief.

"Oh god, Steve! I thought I'd never see you again! I thought you were gone!" She gasped. Steve's hands hovered at her waist, not quite touching her.

"I couldn't stop it.' He whispered "I was still aware, but I couldn't remember who I was or who you were, Claire… I'm sorry." She drew back and cupped his face in her hands, eyes fierce as she gazed into his.

"_No_. Don't say that; this isn't your fault, Steve. You saved me.' Claire said and leaned in, kissing him full on the lips before drawing back and repeating "You _saved_ me."

"Jesus…' Breathed Steve "I love you, Claire. So damn much."

When his lips fastened upon hers it was as if he was trying to pour his heart and soul into her. Claire was surprised, unresponsive for a brief second before she let herself melt into the kiss. She'd not truly known that her feelings for him were so strong until that very moment but it felt... Right. The movement of his lips against hers eased the seven years of regret and loneliness she had felt built in his absence. It was like being set free.

"I missed you!' Claire gasped when they pulled away "You have no idea."

"How long was I…?" Steve trailed off; what was he going to say? Dead?

"Seven years, Steve.' Claire told him "So much has happened."

"Seven...? And you never gave up on me.' He said and pulled her closer "Thank you, Claire. Really." She shook her head.

"I came to rescue you, but you ended up saving me. Again."

Claire smiled at him and he tilted her head back, once more covering her lips with his. With their eyes closed and their attention solely on each other, neither noticed as the colour of their skin shifted back to normal and their enormous wings receded inside their backs. When they drew back from each other, they both blinked in surprise.

"You're normal again…." Steve said and Claire touched a finger to his cheek.

"So are you."

"It's your emotions..." Said a voice from the doorway. They turned to see Tammy, wearing a green dress and awkwardly cradling a 9mm handgun Claire recognised as her Beretta. The young scientist's eyes were not on them but firmly fixed upon Wesker and the dark blood that pooled from beneath his body. For a second her gaze flickered to Steve and Claire.

"Clothes." She said simply and for a moment Claire was unsure what she meant until Steve pointedly looked away. With a glance down at herself, she remembered she was naked and self-consciously drew her knees up to her chest.

"Wesker said the mutations are triggered by emotional-surges. But what changed us back?" She asked the red-headed girl.

"I think its losing control of your anger that does it.' Tammy replied vaguely "Things like happiness and being calm may cause the regression. If your body was to become weakened while in mutated form you would also likely change back." Steve tossed Claire a spare lab coat from a hook on the wall and kept his back turned as she changed into it.

"So we should be able to control it, right?" he asked and Tammy nodded.

"Yes, with some practise you ought to…' She looked as if she was about to say more but then her eyes widened "_Move!_"

Claire ducked forward just in time to avoid being hit by Wesker, suddenly arisen from his death-like state.

"Don't think you can get away…" He panted. One hand was pressed to his injury; it was obvious it would slow him down. Tammy thought quickly and stepped between him and the other two.

"You have to go." She said to them, aiming the gun she held at Wesker.

"We won't leave you!" Claire said but Tammy shook her head.

"If he catches you, it's over.' She said "Please, escape." Claire and Steve still didn't move and she turned, green eyes flashing and yelled.

"_Go!_"

With a final desperate look at Tammy they fled. Both knew she was right; if Wesker were to get his hands on them and put them both under the control of P30, he would be unstoppable.

_Please don't die, Tammy…_

Wesker moved as if to go after them but found he was collapsing to his knees again. He spat blood on the floor and turned his gaze to Tammy. Her eyes regarded him emotionlessly

"You're not going anywhere with that injury." She said and Wesker's bitter laugh soon turned into a coughing fit.

"I'll heal soon enough.' He told her "One of the many benefits of my condition."

"Condition? You're a monster.' Tammy said "I can see from your eyes… What is it that made you like this?"

"That is none of your concern, little girl' Wesker growled, stumbling to his feet. Tammy took a step back, the gun trembling in her grip "What I'm going to do to you when I heal, however…"

"I'll shoot." She sounded sure but Wesker continued to stalk towards her, unperturbed.

"Really? I don't think you could, even if you did know how to use it' his eyes flickered to the gun for a moment and he smiled slowly "Pitiful, you haven't even taken the safety off."

Shame washed over Tammy as she realised that she couldn't even check if Wesker was lying, she didn't have any idea where the safety lock was or what it looked like. He took another step towards her and in a desperate attempt; she pulled the trigger anyway…

_Click._

Disbelief fluttered across Wesker's face for a second before he began to laugh, this time without the wet hacking cough and Tammy saw he was standing a little straighter; he'd been right about healing fast.

"My dear girl, you never cease to surprise me …' He reached into the pocket of his jacket and drew something out with his fist closed around it. Holding it out Wesker slowly open-ended his hand and Tammy watched as bullets fell to the floor with muted ringing sounds.

_What…?_

"I removed the bullets from that gun when I took it from Miss Redfield.' Wesker continued "You called my bluff, Tammy. I didn't think you would actually try to shoot me." He'd just been playing with her.

"No…" The gun slipped from her grasp and before it had even hit the floor, Wesker had thrown her against the operating table. The corner bit into her hip sharply and she cried out from the new pain and the renewed agony from her broken rib. Wesker stormed up to her and with his fingers digging into her jaw he pulled her face close to his.

"I think perhaps I should _break_ this backbone you've grown…' Wesker's voice was a low hiss and his eyes flashed dangerously "Don't you think that would be suitable punishment for all the trouble you've caused me, Tamsin?"

She couldn't reply; her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst. Tammy struggled briefly but Wesker held her firm, his arm so crushingly tight around her that Tammy felt her lungs would pop. She could do nothing but close her eyes, certain she didn't have much longer to live, but opened them when she felt his hands upon hers and something coil around her wrists. Looking down Tammy found her hands ensnared in the restraints attached to the table and then stared up at Wesker, confused.

"I don't understand' She said quietly "Why don't you just kill me?"

"Since you so helpfully lost me my hostage, you will be taking her place.' Wesker replied and his hand slid roughly into her red locks, yanking her head back "Not quite a fair trade, but knowing her she'll come back for you, big brother and pathetic little army in tow. Now keep quiet and stay put, won't you?" He released her and strode away to a small console in the far corner of the room, all the time with Tammy's fearful gaze on his back.

Wesker typed a code into the console and a window appeared on the monitor. From her position, all Tammy could see was a shadowed figure and felt a shiver run down her spine.

"If you are contacting me, I presume you are in need of my services…" the voice rasped in a thick Eastern European accent.

"Indeed.' Wesker replied "When shall I expect you and your men, Kavelin?"

The shadowed mouth on the screen curled in a smile.

"Soon."

* * *

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